Love Isn't Easy LURE
by Airabelle
Summary: Continues from May 31, some background for Reid and a change heart for Luke. If you're a big Reid fan then this is for you.
1. Chapter 1

**I've never before written a fanfic. I just finished and English Comp class and am out for the summer trying to keep my skills up. Since I have an active imaginationa and love the Lure storyline I thought I'd write something up. Critique away it will help to hone my skills. If I skip around to much or things are inconsistent please point it out in your review and I'll try to get it fixed. Thanks for reading!**

**Chapter 1 – Reid Nurses a Hurt **

Reid played that day over in his head many times. It seemed to have started so well. He'd discharged Noah, and Noah hadn't even considered calling on Luke for a ride. Reid had met his friend Richard whom he had seen Noah having dinner with the evening that Luke had taken him to Dallas on the private jet. He'd run into Luke at the Lakeview and spent a whole afternoon with the object of his affection. It had just seemed so promising.

Later when they'd gone back to Luke's to wait for Gabriel they'd spent time playing chess and talking. Yeah it was not the easiest thing for Reid to do. He just wasn't a chatty person, especially when he was the subject of the conversation. His defense mechanism said that sharing anything about himself was dangerous. Still, when he looked at Luke, he just seemed to glaze over and forget the need to barricade himself behind the gruff exterior. He told Luke a bit about his childhood and awkward teen years and then it happened.

Luke had put his hand against his against Reid's face, touching his cheek and his hair and Reid's heart lurched. _He's about to kiss me_, Reid thought. Isn't that what he'd been fantasizing about all day? It seemed as if it were happening in slow motion. Luke leaned towards him, lips parted and Reid was eager for his kiss. This boy always tasted so good.

Reid ran a hand over his face, _Stop daydreaming would you? Get over the_ _kid; think about the way the day ended. He wants nothing to do with you, he treated you like shit!_

It was true, Luke had treated him badly. Reid knew better than to open himself up to people, but ever since he'd set foot in this godforsaken town someone was trying to expose vulnerabilities in him. Bob was always prodding him to cut the sarcasm and believed that it wasn't what Reid truly felt. He'd even hinted around that Reid needed a house and family. Katie was convinced that he had a heart. The baby, well, with the baby who cared, he couldn't talk and expose Reid's vulnerabilities, it was easy with him. But Luke, well Luke had been peeling back the layers on Reid for months now.

Reid had hated Luke at first, but not long after meeting him it seemed that maybe his life wasn't the easy life that Reid had imagined it to be. He seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders and Reid could see that the kid had a genuinely big heart. When Luke started to uncover Reid's tender side, Reid let him even though it scared him to death. What Reid thought was interest and caring on Luke's side had proven to only be curiosity. Luke had done nothing but treat Reid like a science project. He'd peeled back the layers and exposed a vulnerable side of Reid and then he'd ground at it with the heel of his boot.

Ghaw! How could Reid have been so stupid? How could he have let Luke do that? He'd actually started letting these hick idiot get to him. He liked Bob, hell, he loved Katie, but this is the end of it. "I don't care how much I like them", he thought, "I'm not letting anyone get close again, who knows if they can be trusted."

Reid trusted one person in life and one person only. And even now he could feel his blackberry vibrate with what was probably another text from her. She seemed to have some kind of telepathy that knew when he was in pain. He found that a bit irritating but in a way comforting as well. He felt that too, he always knew instinctively when something wasn't right. He'd pulled her out of more scrapes than he could count and been her knight in shining armor. She's the one person he'd do anything, give anything for.

Reid looked at his phone and pushed the button to read the message. _**I know something's up, call me.**_ Well that is the one thing he knew he couldn't do. He couldn't call Brianna. She'd know in an instant how much he was hurting. No matter how monotone he could keep his voice she always heard it in him.

He hit the reply and texted back, _**I'm fine you mother hen, geeze, concentrate on that baby you just had would ya?**_

No one would ever know that he had a picture of that baby on his phone. He popped it up to look at it every hour the last few days. He'd almost got caught once but he was quick with his fingers and got rid of it before anyone saw. Right now he couldn't help looking at it again. He smiled a bit; the kid looked just like him. Same coloring and same reddish blonde curls on his head, he looked like all of Reid's baby pictures. If it weren't for the constant meetings on the neurology wing and the waiting list of patients needing consults he be there with them in a heartbeat. He'd never tell a soul how much he longed to meet the little tyke that had entered the world only 3 weeks ago.

"Earth to Dr. Oliver."

Reid looked up to see one of the nurses standing in front of him with a quizzical look on her face.

"Your 2:30 consult is here waiting in your office," the woman walked away shaking her head, "and he calls us idiots!"

Reid snapped himself out of it. He had to get back to being his callous, all business, all genius self.

Brianna was on the plane with her new infant. If Reid couldn't get the time off to see the baby then she was darn well going to bring the baby to him. This was monumental in her life and she just had to share it with him. She knew too that he wanted to share it with her too, and it had already been almost a month.

The red light came on and it chimed, telling her to fasten her seat belt.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will are approaching Oakdale and beginning our decent."

Not long now, she couldn't wait to see Reid. He touched her heart in a way that no would else ever would. It had been almost a year since she'd seen him. She talked to him regularly on the phone and by email. But the last week he'd been so distant. He'd been busy each time she'd called and she'd only received text messages from him. She shook her head. Why did he think he could cloak his feelings with that? Didn't he know by now that she felt everything that he felt?

She could feel that he'd retreated farther into himself. She sensed that lonely feeling. It was always with him and she feared it always would be but it was so much worse right now than it had been in a while. She'd almost stopped worrying about him lately. She could sense that he was experiencing something new although she wasn't sure quite what. Romance she hoped. But if that was it then it must have gone terribly wrong. She'd sensed him being more relaxed and less driven lately, and it relaxed her. She wondered if this odd supernatural connection would go on forever. It seemed such a responsibility yet not one that she resented in the least. But knowing you were a person's only lifeline was huge.

She remembered last week. She'd smiled to herself as she sensed the optimism that enveloped her. She wondered what that was all about, and then it was replaced by anxiety and then depression. She couldn't stand for him to hurt, never could, not when it caused her pain as well. She was stronger than he was, but then she hadn't had his disappointments. He'd closed himself off and she was a people person. It hurt her that he was so introverted and barricaded but she understood it completely. Her heart ached for him on a regular basis but he was who he was and he may never change. She just resolved to let him be how he needed to be and love him as she always had.

Reid was tired. And feeling a little abandoned. Brianna had been so concerned for him this last week. And although he'd sent every message he could to reassure her that he was fine she'd kept up. He guessed he'd finally convinced her because he hadn't had a message since last night. He was glad, he didn't want to worry her. Still, it was nice to have someone caring about him. He knew that Katie cared, it showed on her face when he got home from work and she happened to be there but he just couldn't bring himself to talk to her about any of it.

It hadn't helped that she'd had Doogie unconscious in the bedroom why Luke had burst in the door to tell him that Noah was the man he wanted and couldn't get. Who wants Doogie in the next room when the person you've come to care about with such incredible intensity, comes in to tell you that he loves someone else and can't get them. He wasn't sure what was wrong with Bob's protégé but he was lying unconscious on Katie's bed with a prescription bottle next to him. He seemed so far gone that Reid was fairly sure he didn't hear any of the exchange. And Reid didn't raise his voice at all when he'd asked the handsome, heartbreaking Luke Snyder to leave his home.

He'd actually had hope of an actual relationship with Luke when he'd come through the door. For all of five seconds he'd thought that Luke had been honest with Noah and made a choice to have an healthy, adult relationship. My god it was deflating to have him say the complete opposite. He'd had such faith in Luke. He'd believed Luke the one person that he would actually be able to drop his guard with and really love.

_Love?_ Holy shit, he didn't just think that did he? Love? _Get a grip Reid, you don't love anyone! Not anyone! _Well except Bree. But no other exceptions. Anyway it wasn't love. It's just lust. He rolled his eyes, the kid is gorgeous. He dresses a bit weird but Luke was beautiful. He'd noticed that right away; even when he was mad as hell at him. He didn't know what to expect when he came to town at the demand of the little blackmailer, but it certainly wasn't that. The blonde hair, the huge deep brown eyes, and innocent look had startled him. Actually it had added fuel to Reid's anger at first. Reid thought that he probably used that innocent gorgeous look to get whatever he wanted and persuade people to things they shouldn't be persuaded to. But as time passed he'd changed his opinion of the kid. He seemed not to know how attractive he was.

Reid had to smirk, the kid seemed to have issues with his hair though. Sometimes it was long and in his eyes, another time slicked back, next time he saw him it was shorter all brushed into bangs on his forehead and then other times standing straight up like a rooster. Sometimes even in a single day you'd see more than one hair do. Well however he happened to be wearing it, it was beautiful and golden. It shown in the sun like wheat and could cause him to look like an angel with a halo. Angel, he'd thought him angel like at one point. Well maybe with bent wings he grinned. But he'd lost that image now for Reid. He was reckless and hurtful and a hundred other things that Reid despised. _Never let anyone get close_, he reminded himself, _never_.

Reid moved over to the sofa in his small office and sat. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes. His chest felt so heavy. Come on Reid, he thought. This isn't so different. You've never let people close. You have more friends now than you've ever had in your life. How can you feel so damn lonely all of a sudden? It's this hell hole of a town he thought! He hit the back of the sofa next to where he was sitting. Why had he ever agreed to stay in this stupid, stupid place? There's got to be something in the water here he thought. My intelligence is flying out the window, pretty soon I'll be just like the rest of these hicks. Ugh! And then the pain again, he squinted his eyes and a single tear rolled down the side of his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Brianna Arrives**

Brianna's cab pulled up in front of its destination. Oakdale Memorial it said as the cab pulled up to the hospital. The driver retrieved her bags from the trunk of the car and she took her son carrier and all from the backseat. She paid the driver and looked at her bags. Boy there is a lot to haul around with an infant she thought. How on earth would she carry her boy, haul these bags and baby things around, and find Reid. She heaved a sigh, good grief, one of the suit cases was almost as big as she was.

She struggled to get her things in the front lobby of the hospital and gratefully a handsome young guy asked if he could help.

"Hi, you really seem to have your hands full there, need a hand?"

"Oh yes please, I'm a bit overwhelmed," she said breathlessly.

"Yeah, usually people don't come to a hospital with so much stuff, if you're planning to move in I have to say it's not the homiest place around" he laughed.

"Uh no, not moving in she blushed." She saw he had a nametag and a polo shirt with the hospital logo on it.

"Uh, Casey, do you know if I could park this stuff somewhere until I can track down one of your doctors?"

"How did you know my name? Oh yeah," he grinned, "the name tag."

Oh boy, she thought humorously, Reid was probably sniping right and left around here. The boy seemed nice enough though and very helpful. He put her bags in a supply closet, and told her he'd keep an eye on it until she'd found the doctor she needed. He'd inquired if her baby was sick but she'd said no, and inquired if he knew Dr. Oliver.

"Dr. Oliver? You need a neurosurgeon?"

"Well, no," she stammered and then smiled brightly, "its personal."

"You mean someone wants to see him in purpose?" Casey asked. "I thought only my granddad and Aunt Katie liked that guy."

"Aunt Katie? You mean Reid's roommate?"

"Yeah."

Reid had pulled himself out of his funk and off of the sofa and was almost ready to head home. One more stop by the nurse's station with instructions for the patient he'd operated on that morning and that was it.

He'd explained his instructions to the nurse at the desk three times before she comprehended. God but these people were dense. He pinched his nose at the bridge and squinted his eyes shut.

"Reid?" He heard the sweetest voice behind him. He turned around and there she was, as tiny as ever staring at him concern and excitement on her face. Oh it felt like…. returning from a long journey. Relief. Comfort. He scooped her up in his arms and held her tight.

The nurses and orderlies around just looked on in awe. Did the universe just tip? Was the dreadful Dr. Oliver actually showing himself human? He actually cared about someone and they cared about him. He put his sister down on the floor and looked down at his nephew. A miniature of himself. Well, Bree was a miniature of him in a way. She was older than him, but only by about 2 minutes. He crouched down to examine the boy and a broad smile split across his face. One of the nurses nearly fainted at that sight. He looked up and saw them all staring, mouths open as if they were catching flies.

"What the hell is your problem? Would you idiot get to work? There are sick and injured people here help if you hadn't noticed."

"REID!" she admonished.

"What?" he asked blankly.

She rolled her eyes and looked so much like Reid when she did that the staff sighed almost out loud and in unison. It's his sister they all thought at once.

After scooping up the baby carrier and leading Bree back to his office he couldn't wait to ask her. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you," she said simply.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"Just about a half hour ago. I left on an impulse and had a cab bring me directly here."

"Ah. Well let me make a call." He called Katie.

"You have a sister?" He'd always acted so independent of anyone she'd always assumed that he had no family. "A twin sister? Wow. Well of course she can stay, it will be interesting but fun two babies in the house." She laughed. But Katie wondered how much sleep they would be getting with two babies crying during the night.

With that all settled he looked at Bree. "Where are your things?"

"Oh, Katie's nephew is holding them in a supply closet for me," she said.

"Katie has a nephew? Oh yeah, I know who you mean." Reid's upper lip curled in that cute little way he does. "He's also my boss's grandson you know."

"Oooh," she said, "I see what you mean, this is a small town." She looked at him with beautiful green eyes identical to his own and they both laughed as they walked down the hall in search of Casey. Reid swinging the baby carrier along side of him, as they walked and leaving a trail of dumbfounded hospital employees in his wake.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Luke Has Regrets**

Luke was restless. He'd walked through Old Town at least 10 times so far. Each time he passed Yo's the temptation to get a drink became stronger. He cringed each time he thought about his actions last week. My god he'd screwed things up. He couldn't even imagine how to fix this.

Poor Noah, he shook his head, how could he have done that to Noah?

Luke had been letting explaining to Noah throughout his entire stay in the hospital after surgery that it was over between them. When Noah had first asked if Luke's feeling for him had changed Luke had tried to dance around the issue. But in the end Luke had told him yes, his feelings had changed. It wasn't what Noah had expected him to say, nor was it what he wanted him to say but say it Luke did. He'd tried to be a friend to Noah and yet gently disassociate him from the idea that they would get back together. It seemed he finally had since Noah asked his other "friend" to drive him home.

Luke had felt relieved but sad as well. He'd always expected his relationship with Noah to last and the fact that it didn't made Luke's heart ache. He knew that they'd both done things to hurt each other. After all Luke had been a troubled teen and still had roller coaster emotions as a result. He would often do something stupid on impulse or explode like a volcano. But Noah had problems too and because of his deep sense of duty was always making decisions to fix this situation or that and completely ignoring any effect that his decisions had on Luke.

Luke had always hoped that Noah would reach the point where a mature relationship called on his sense of duty to put his partner first. Maybe Noah had reached that point now who knew. But it was really too late. Too much had happened to go back. He's always love Noah and want what was best for him, but not a romantic relationship. That was no longer an option.

Why then had he told him just the opposite the other day? He'd actually told Noah that he'd wanted him back. Why had he done such a thing? It wasn't true. Luke felt it true at the time, for all of about an hour. But why had he felt that? Luke lowered his head. He knew why. Fear mostly, touched with a bit of guilt. He shouldn't feel guilty, he hadn't done anything wrong. But, when you've only had one boyfriend, one sexual partner, it felt like being caught with your hand in the cookie jar, to have that person watching you kiss someone else. It was just strange. But that guilty feeling was only part of it, a small part.

Fear. Fear was the culprit in this whole scenario. Luke ran his hand over his face. What he had wanted for so long was a meaningful relationship. He wanted to feel secure for once. That he really mattered to another person. He wanted romantic interludes, he wanted to be kissed, he wanted someone to lean on when things were tough. He'd gone through all the turmoil with Damian and had taken over a business he barely knew, and he'd done it all alone. Oh his parents offered him support with the foundation but Grimaldi shipping was his baby. No one wanted anything to do with something that had been Damian's. Luke had worked hard to get a staff together that he could trust there. Lucinda had given him some pointers on scoping out illegal or unethical business dealings and after getting rid of a few holdings and a few employees Luke felt reassured that everything was on the up and up. He was comfortable enough to hire a CEO to take care of most of it for him. Luke still sat in on meetings at least the important ones. And he had to make his presence known a couple of times a week. He'd moved the offices back to his Grandmother's building. That way he could mostly be available to the foundation and it was a quick elevator ride to Grimaldi when they needed him.

It had all been stress and a transition. Most of all the crushing blow that the Father he was just beginning to know was so devious. He had really grown to love Damian, and it felt so incredible to be accepted and loved by the father that had tried to have him brainwashed only a few years ago. Luke loved Holden. Holden was a great Dad. Holden was his dad, someone he could depend on. He knew Holden would love and care for him until his dying day. But there was something about Damian. When he looked at Damian he could see himself. He realized how much he looked like his father. He realized how passionate Damian was about things and people that he loved. It was fierce. Misguided of course, but Luke knew that it was in him too and drove him to do some of the stupid things he'd done in his life. When Damian called him "son" or hugged him Luke could feel the intensity of that love from his father. Now that was all gone. Damian had damaged the relationship beyond all repair and now sat in prison. He'd never feel that again, and it hurt.

A man like Reid could have helped Luke with some of the torture he'd been through. Reid was strong and confident. But he had an incredibly tender side. Luke smiled. He wondered if anyone else in the world thought that about Reid. Probably not he thought. Luke thought back to the day of Noah's surgery. He'd gone to see Reid, fuming that things had gone awry, blaming Reid for hurting Noah. In retrospect he could look back and see how hard that day was for Reid too. He recalled the look on Reid's face when he'd first come out of surgery. He was telling Luke that things had gone badly and wearing such a disappointed expression. Reid had such a hard shell, he never wore that look. Then he remembered how he'd let Luke rant and rave, taking most but not all of his insults. And then after Luke's tirade was over, he'd softly touched Luke's cheek.

That touch had been Luke's undoing. He'd been attracted to Reid for so long. And that touch was so soft, so inviting, Luke just couldn't help but lean in for a kiss. He'd been so hungry for comfort. Not his parent's comfort since he'd sent them away; he'd wanted comfort from Reid. He remembered how it felt to kiss him. It was soft at first, then so passionate. It had been there between them for so long, every look, every glance had said, "I want you". But Luke's concern over Noah and then that tinge of guilt he felt about being with someone new had taken over and Luke had put on the brakes.

Since then he'd been meticulously trying to work things out in a way that he could pursue a relationship with Reid. But then, last week, it was going precisely in that direction and Luke had gotten scared. After hanging out for an afternoon first looking for Gabriel and then playing chess they'd talked a bit and Luke had been drawing Reid out. He was learning new little things about him, and Luke liked that. This time Luke had initiated the kiss. He remembered how it felt to touch Reid's curly reddish hair. He remembered how unsure the confident doctor looked for once and how beautiful his green eyes had looked at that moment.

Reid hadn't stayed unsure for long. Heat had ignited in him pretty quickly. And he was skilled enough to project that heat onto Luke. Reid was an excellent kisser. He could bring Luke to boiling point in record time. Luke couldn't remember a kiss ever generating that amount of heat before. It was completely intoxicating. He knew that had Noah not shown up at the door that day, they probably would have ended up back at Reid's or at the Lakeview or something. Anywhere with privacy. But Noah had shown up. And Luke had the uncomfortable experience of being turned on like never before while watching the man who he'd always considered his destiny peering at him through the window.

Strange, the kind of fire that Reid generated in him was the kind of passion Luke had always dreamed of, always wanted. And yet that was exactly the thing that scared him to death! Oh if only I wouldn't have done that, he groaned. Luke couldn't help but wonder what kind of insanity had possessed him that day. I'm not sure I've done anything that stupid when I was completely wasted, he thought. In one day he'd hurt the two men that he cared about most.

Noah was devastated to see Luke kissing Reid but oddly enough Luke thought he'd handled it well and was actually bracing himself for Luke to explain that he'd moved on. It was really graceful of Noah and if Luke hadn't been such a complete idiotic fool he'd have seen that and thanked heaven for the ease of the situation. Instead in his panic he'd taken another tack. He'd told Noah that he wanted him back and Noah had blown a gasket. Well he should have blown a gasket. Who would ever want to hear that from a person that he'd just seen devouring someone else.

Stupidest move of all though, he'd gone to Reid's place. He'd stormed in and told Reid about Noah, about his eyesight, and about him seeing the kiss. Then he'd told Reid about their exchange and how Noah had rejected him. He recalled how Reid's face had gone blank and he had stared off at nothing in particular and asked, "Why are you here?" It was that blank stare and the glazed over expression that started to wake Luke up. This is how the stoic Dr. Oliver looked when he was hurt. Then he'd quietly put him in his place and asked him to leave.

Luke realized now how dumb the thing with Noah had been. He hadn't really wanted back with Noah, it was just familiar and easy. He hadn't really been so unhappy when Noah had turned him down, but the memories of things going wrong between him and Noah was all too familiar and what he felt were echoes of all the prior disappointments. And his own immature, irrational behavior had caused him to hurt Noah badly. That same stupid, stupid state of mind and brought him to Reid's door. Oh if only he could redo that horrid day. He knew now that the worst part of it all was knowing that he'd drawn Reid out, exposed him, and then hurt him in the worst possible way. At least he'd treated Noah like his feelings mattered. He'd treated Reid as if he had not feelings to worry about.

He wanted so badly to talk to Reid. He wanted to explain that he'd suffered from temporary insanity. That he was so very sorry that he'd hurt him. But how could he? Every possible thing he could think to say sounded lame to him, if he said anything like that to Reid he'd be laughed at and thrown out again. Reid wore an invisible armor as tough as the toughest leather. Luke doubted he'd ever get a chance to touch a soft spot in Reid again. After how Luke had treated him, knowing Reid, he wasn't going to let anyone close, at least, not for a long time.

Luke had left old town and now found himself sitting on the grass looking at the pond as he thought. He laid back and covered his eyes with his forearm. As his eyes closed tears began to fall back into his hair.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Brianna Settles In**

After stopping by the store for some supplies for the baby, Reid had taken Bree home and carried in her things. He'd never been so glad to see anyone in his life. Now that they were home and Bree was setting things up Reid removed the child from the carrier. He smiled, Katie would have a field day now. Sure he was good with Jacob, but this was different. This baby was the child of the only person that completely understood and accepted him. As he picked up the child that looked so much like himself he snuggled him closed to his chest.

"Nice to meet you Reid" he said to the groggy baby. "Guess who you're named after."

Katie had already decided that it would be good let Reid have an evening alone with his sister. He'd been so closed off this last week, and grouchier than normal. She was pretty sure that his mood had something to do with Luke but he wasn't talking and she wasn't going to press it.

Still, she'd began to worry when every time she got up with Jacob during the night and saw Reid sitting at the table going over case files. And then he'd begun picking up extra shifts at the hospital. She was sure he'd had only a few hours of sleep in the last few days. She'd been worrying about him all day when she received his call.

She was sure that some time alone with his sister, at least this first night would be a good thing. She'd rung Margo before leaving the station and arranged to spend the night with her. Tom was out of town on a case and she needed to talk to her sister anyway. I real heart to heart about Chris and Brad and her feelings about both.

She was just going to go in and pack a bag for her and Jacob and be gone.

"Hey Reid" she said as she came in the door. She smiled brightly as she saw him holding the baby and smiling. It was the first time she'd seen him smile in over a week. "And who is this little guy?" she asked, touching her finger to the baby's chin and smiling.

"This is my nephew, Reid" he said beaming.

Katie shook her head laughing. She thought Reid was special, but the thought that someone else thought enough of Reid to name their child after him struck a funny note. She saw Reid nod toward the kitchen. She turned and saw the most beautiful young woman standing there beaming back at her.

"Hello, I'm Brianna, I know you're Katie from the way that Reid described you. This must be Jacob."

"Yes it is," Katie said, I wish I had the same working knowledge of you but I never knew you existed till today." Katie instantly liked the woman, she looked like Reid except that her smile wasn't reserved for special occasions. Katie could tell that she smiled all the time, it was so natural for her. How odd that she looked so much like Reid and yet completely different. Same green eyes, Same light auburn hair, full of waves. But this girl was a mere, what, 5'2? In comparison to Reid's 5'11? And her hair lay in long curly waves floating halfway down her back. "I'm sorry, would you mind holding him for a minute?"

Katie passed Jacob off to Brianna and hurried in to the nursery.

"Jacob and I are spending the night with Margo," she called out. "Reid please, if Chris calls don't mention that. I need some time to talk with my sister."

"Katie, you aren't leaving because we're taking over your house are you?" Reid asked. "I can put Brianna up in a room at the Lakeview ya know"

"Are you crazy? She can't stay in a hotel with a baby. I'm going to Margo's because Tom is out of town and I need to talk to my sister. And you need to talk to yours." She reappeared from the nursery with the baby's bag bulging and giving Reid a look that said he better unburden himself to someone.

"Katie you really don't need to leave," Reid replied.

"Yes I do Reid, I'll explain it too you later. That is if you're interested. But I'm not holding my breath of course." She was calling from her room as she threw her things in her overnight bag.

"Ah Katie," Reid rolled his eyes, "you aren't really starting something with Doogie Hughes are you? And why was he on prescription narcotics, unconscious on your bed for 2 days?"

"Oh," she emerged from her bedroom, "well," her eyes darted back and forth between Reid and his sister that was listening intently to the conversation but staying completely quiet. "I hit him with my car!"

All three looked at each other in turn and dissolved into laughter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Confessions**

Brianna searched through the fridge and cupboards and found enough ingredients to throw together one of Reid's favorites, chicken fajitas. She laughed as she watched him stuff his face uttering praises for the food with his mouth full. She knew that he was postponing the inevitable conversation but that was ok. She'd let him for now.

They both heard his phone buzz and eventually chime with a text message. Reid reached over and picked it up. Luke was sending him a message. Reid grimaced. He hit view and read the short message. _**I have proposals for you to look over.**_

_**Leave them in my office. **_He quickly sent the reply expecting that to be the end of it. But another buzz and chime blew that theory. He looked again.

_**My mom is having a small dinner party for Gabriel. Lots of free food, want to come?**_

_**NO!**_

Reid set down his phone after turning it completely off. If the hospital needed him they could page him.

Luke was not surprised but disappointed all the same when Reid turned down his invitation. It wasn't like Reid to turn down food but after last week, Luke wouldn't be surprised if he turned down steak and chili.

Luke had been outside when he'd texted Reid. Being around all the people in the house wasn't all too inviting with all that he had on his mind. He decided to go back to the house and lay down for a few minutes. Everyone seemed engaged in conversation at the moment and oddly enough his dad was playing host alongside his mom.

Luke went to his room and found Noah there. What on earth was he doing here?

"Noah?"

"Luke," Noah looked a bit awkward, "I just came by to grab the last few items floating around here."

"That sweatshirt? I could have sent you that. Uhm, did you get your dvd's?"

"What? Oh those? Oh you can just keep those"

"Have you eaten? You should get some food, there's lots downstairs."

"Luke, I didn't come by for food, I really just came to thank your mom for everything she'd done for me. She took care of some of my medical expenses. Since I didn't have my surgery in Dallas not all of the medical expenses were covered, although Dr. Oliver isn't charging me for his fee still."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Noah huffed, "now that I know what's been going on and think back to the way tried so hard to help me out, well he went way above the norm in being helpful, and I don't think it's really his style. Luke, I think he was probably doing it for you." Noah had a sad but baffled look on his face.

"For me? Noah, what are you talking about?" Luke was confused.

"Luke, What you said last week, about wanting to get back together. It was a load of crap and you know it. I love you Luke, I'd give anything if you had meant what you said, but I've known you for a long time and I know better."

Luke looked sheepish and guilty. "I'm sorry Noah, I'm so sorry. I can't believe that I hurt you like that. It was stupid and childish and I feel horrible."

"Luke, when I saw you kissing Dr. Oliver, I was shocked and horrified. I really did think that you were going to wait for me even after we broke up. But as I thought about it…. God this is hard to admit." There was a long pause. "As I thought about it, I couldn't ever remember you looking at me the way you looked at him."

"Noah, I.."

"Luke let me finish. I know you loved me Luke, and I loved you. But I realize now that I didn't love you like you needed me to. Luke you're comfortable with who you are, I'm not. It was hard for me to come out and it's still hard for me to be comfortable with being gay in front of people. There is so much of my dad inside my head. I just can't seem to get rid of my baggage. I'm not going to get involved again until I can work through some things. I've already found a group to go to, I'm going to try to work through it. When I'm ready, I hope I find someone as special as you."

"Wow, Noah, I wasn't expecting all that."

"I mean it Luke, I pushed you away and I ran away again and again. That whole enlistment thing was one of my ways of trying to run. I'm so glad you were persistent and stopped me from that. I think when you got hit by the car and Damian came back is when I really started to feel the pressure. There was all that publicity about gay rights. And then Mason, and I just wanted to do my movie and pretend that none if it was happening and I let you down. My accident wasn't' your fault Luke, it was mine. I did that, and I blamed you, and I hurt you, and I'm sorry." Noah was almost breathless from his long explanation.

Luke didn't even have words to say. He just hugged him and they both cried for a long time. "Noah, lets go down and get some food." Noah looked at him and smiled. He nodded his consent and followed Luke down to the kitchen.

Brianna looked at Reid on the couch, he had his eyes closed, head laid back. She could tell he was tired. Her son laid comfortable against Reid's chest sleeping away. She walked over and gathered the baby into her arms and walked him to the nursery. Katie had changed the sheet in the crib and give Brianna the baby monitor. "This is little Reid's nursery tonight, " she'd said.

Brianna laid the baby down on his back and looked at him. This little Reid would know love every day. He'd have the understanding growing up that his uncle hadn't had. This Reid would find his confidence from being loved and supported, not because he was always protecting or defending himself. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she kissed her finger and touched it to the baby's forehead. She picked up the monitor and quietly closed the door.

She walked back into the living room, sad on the end of to sofa facing Reid, she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and stared him right in the eyes. Ok little brother out with it, and I don't want a thing left out since you set foot in this small town. The serious look on her face was enough to tell him that she wasn't going to take his wordy crap. She wanted the story. Reid could push any other human being away but not her. Not only was she the person that he trusted most in the world, the only person that he'd ever relied on, but she'd just traveled here all the way from her little cottage on the beach in California only 3 weeks after giving birth all because of her concern for him. He wouldn't make light of that with pat answers.

Reid began to unload on his sister, he told the whole story of how Luke had blackmailed him into coming here. He told her of his arrogant and insane attempt to get out of his, his subsequent arrest, of Bob's plea for his release and being chained to the small town hospital. He told her about meeting Katie and how she and her young son had wormed their way into his heart. He told her about the opportunity to run a world class neurology unit, and of Luke, how he'd fallen in love with a man that loved another and the heartbreak that he felt. As he shared the details of the last week a few small tears slid down his face. Reid wasn't the type to cry. Even as a child he'd held it back. But he couldn't help the few tears that escaped his eyes. After he had told her e everything he closed his eyes and leaned his head against Brianna's knees that were still pulled up against her chest.

Brianna ached a bit from the position since they'd being sitting there for almost 2 hours. But she had kept as still as possible so as not to interrupt her brother's confession. Now she silently cried. She put her hands on Reid's head and pressed a kiss to his light auburn curls. She wept for her brother who had suffered through a miserable childhood to become the strong confident yet insecure man that he was. She cried that once more as he had dared to share his heart that he was met with more disappointment and pain. She cried out every tear that he wasn't able to.

"Bree, I'm so tired," he said. "I've been picking up every extra shift they would allow because it was easier than lying here awake at night." He gave her a half hearted smile. "I think I can finally sleep now."

She smiled and nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Luke meets Brianna**

The party seemed to end kind of early. Noah had gotten some food but didn't really want to stay and hang out with the family. Jack had kept Gabriel cornered in the kitchen for most of the time and his grandmother was talking in quiet tones to Carly. Luke went back upstairs and lay on his bed.

Luke closed his eyes and he heard Noah's words again, "I didn't love you like you needed me to." "My accident wasn't your fault it was mine." "I blamed you and I'm sorry." It felt like someone had taken a block of cement of his chest. He'd carried around the weight of guilt and obligation for so long. It still hurt that something that had been so sweet once had turned so bad, but for once it was acknowledged that it wasn't all Luke's fault. Luke felt, well what did he feel, free for lack of a better word.

Well that was one half of the destruction he'd caused last week fixed. Now, for the other half. This wasn't going to be so easy. Reid was too busy for Luke whenever he wanted to be. And with pager going off, it was hard for Luke to argue that he was just pretending to be busy. He knew Reid was off tonight. Maybe he could just meet him at Java and try to explain himself. He dialed Reid's number but it went straight to voicemail. _Nice Dr. Oliver, you've got your phone off now._

With the Noah situation behind him, Luke just had to see Reid. The last time he'd seen those brilliant green eyes Reid was throwing him out. They were glazed over and hurt. Luke winced at the memory of that. The determined set of Reid's jaw as Luke had pleaded, "No, please, Reid" and Reid had looked at the floor as he held the door open. Oh he just had to see him. Luke jumped off the bed grabbed his jacket and ran out the door.

Brianna continued to sit on the sofa for a while longer. She was glad she came. She knew that she and her son would be a soothing balm on Reid's broken heart. And she'd been feeling his feelings too strongly even to paint. For that matter she couldn't even draw. She could now though she thought. She walked over to her bag and pulled out a sketch pad and some pencils. She went back to the sofa and put her tiny feet up on the coffee table and began to draw.

In a short amount of time she had sketches strewn all over the coffee table and sofa. Drawings of her baby, drawings of Reid, drawings of Reid lying back on the sofa with the sleeping baby on his chest as she'd seen them earlier. In her drawings Reid either looked relaxed or happy. The way she wanted him to be. There was no trace of the hard cold stares that he loved to give or the stiff set of jaw that he knew intimidated people. It was just the way he looked when he knew no one was around.

The doorbell caused her to jump. She'd been so engrossed in looking over her drawings that she'd been almost in another world. She slowly opened the door to see a tall, blonde young man standing there. _Oh it couldn't be, _she thought. She smiled brightly as she always did. "Can I help you?"

Luke was taken aback. "I uh." He was stammering, "I was looking for Reid, is he at home?" Who on earth was this girl? Maybe a babysitter for Jacob? But no, on closer examination this wasn't a girl it was a woman. Luke smiled slightly, she looked kind of like a fairy, she just needed wings and ballet slippers.

At that moment she heard the monitor and the baby crying. She didn't want the baby to wake her brother who she was sure hadn't slept a whole night in a week. She grabbed Luke by the wrist and quickly dragged him inside. She put her fingers to her lips and quickly ran to get her son.

Luke just stood there a bit confused. That baby didn't sound like Jacob, that baby sounded new. And that woman, she's barely Faith's height and yet she looks to he is. If he liked women he'd have thought he hit the jackpot. There was something so familiar about her. Her smile, yeah, her smile went all the way to her eyes just like Reid's did.

He stood there for several minutes. When she finally emerged she had a baby blanket draped over her with a small bulge under it. _Oh she's nursing, _he thought. She seemed completely comfortable so he relaxed. She pulled her right hand out from under the blanket while continuing to hold her feasting child with her left. She extended her right hand toward Luke. Again with that smile. "I'm Brianna," she said. "And judging from the blonde hair and dark brown eyes, I'm guessing that you're Luke." She motioned him to sit down.

Now Luke was really confused, "I'm sorry, you know who I am?" He sat down on the sofa.

"I guessed," she replied as she sat at the other end.

"I'm really confused," he gave her a quizzical look.

"I'm Reid's sister," she said.

"I didn't even know Reid had a sister, he never talks about family, he seems independent and … well I don't know exactly. It's nice to meet you Brianna."

Brianna was used to this type of exchange. Every time she met people that Reid knew she knew all about them and they knew nothing at all of her. Part of his defense mechanism, he never shared personal information. She liked this boy's smile. He seemed really kind, even though she wanted not to like Luke after seeing how hurt her brother had been. But then again, there were two sides to every story right? "Reid doesn't reveal much of himself I'm afraid," she said a bit apologetically.

"No he doesn't."

"Well he's been so busy since he moved here that he didn't have time to come meet his nephew," she said. "So we came to him."

"I see, well is err, is he at home?" Luke didn't want to interrupt this visit but he wanted to talk to Reid so bad he couldn't see straight. Brianna's brow furrowed and Luke noticed. "Is something wrong with Reid?" He looked very concerned.

"No nothing like that," she said. She thought about their long conversation earlier and how exhausted he was. She'd held on to his pager for him, so that he could sleep soundly and let her wake him for a call. She wasn't going to tell Luke how emotionally drained he was, that wasn't her place. "Luke my brother has been working almost around the clock for a week now. He's so tired I didn't think he'd even make it to the bedroom before passing out. Could I ask you to postpone your conversation?" She just didn't think that her brother could handle any more of this heart stuff today.

Luke hated the idea of postponing the conversation. He'd just had a millstone lifted from him and longed to be free of the other, the more weighty of the two. "Oh sure," Luke looked down disappointed. "Yeah it's not a big deal really." Yet he looked completely deflated.

The look on his face tugged at her heart, she could see why this boy touched Reid so deeply. "I'm sure that isn't the case. But really, you're conversation will go so much better in a day or two."

Luke looked up at her, she had such a tender look on her face. The same way that Reid had looked at him when he'd finally finished screaming after Noah's surgery. And the way he'd looked at him right before Noah woke up. It was a look of comfort and understanding. It's the look that he wanted from Reid. He'd come here with the hope of explaining his insanity to Reid and he'd hoped to get that look from him tonight. He remembered how tenderly Reid had touched his face on both occasions and was surprised to feel Brianna's hand on his.

Luke felt a bit embarrassed and looked around. He looked at the drawings strewn around. He hadn't even noticed them before. "Would you mind?" she asked holding the baby out to him.

"Oh sure," he said taking the satisfied infant.

As Brianna busied her hands under the blanket adjusting the top of her summer dress, Luke looked back at the drawings. His gaze fell to one of the pictures of Reid with the baby on his chest. The picture of Reid with the infant caused Luke's heart to overflow with love for the man he'd hurt so badly. "You must have been drawing when I interrupted you," Luke said sheepishly.

"I was," she beamed. "It's the first time I've been able to successfully put pencil to paper in over a week.

That was odd timing Luke thought. He guess he looked a bit baffled when she smiled her explanation at him.

"Reid and I are twins, Mr. Snyder. We have one of those crazy connection things that can't be explained." She laughed easily, "I often wonder if he didn't go into Neurosurgery trying to find a part of the brain where he could turn that off."

"Twins?" Luke couldn't think of anything else to say. He suffered from shock and was kind of amused that she'd said "Mr. Snyder" in the same fashion that Reid did so often.

Brianna only chuckled in response.

Luke felt embarrassed and looked around for something. "Could I borrow that? He said now looking at the discarded receiving blanket.

Now it was her turn to look slightly surprised. She handed him the blanket which he expertly put over his shoulder and leaning the baby against him began to pat his back. Luke seemed to know his way around babies she thought.

"So what do you mean by "crazy connection things"?"

He was looking a bit embarrassed and she couldn't blame him. "Well," she began, "we feel each other's emotions. Not all the time, but," she paused a bit, "when it's anything important, the other always knows."

"Is that why you're really here?"

This time she looked serious. Not upset really, but deeply concerned. And her eyes were full of compassion. "Yes Luke, it is why I'm here."

Luke chewed his bottom lip for a minute and heard the baby give a burp. This was awkward as hell but after all that he'd done and with his desperation to fix things with Reid he didn't want to get hung up on pride. "Brianna, I have a feeling that you know pretty much everything that's happened." He pulled the baby back down and cradled him so he could look at him for the first time. I really would like to talk this out before I talk to Reid."

"I don't know Luke; I don't want intrude in my brother's affairs. No pun intended." She smiled.

Luke liked Brianna, she reminded him of Reid, except that she was relaxed and lacked the sarcasm. Although, Luke had to admit that Reid's wit and snarkiness was one of the things he loved about him. "I don't want you to talk to him on my behalf or anything. I made a mess of things as you probably know. I just need to talk to someone, and someone that understands Reid would be able to maybe help me figure out how to explain it to him."

It was really hard to resist this boy's pleading and his expression of turmoil made her give in. "Alright, perhaps tomorrow. If I know my brother he'd up at dawn and at the hospital shortly after. I'll probably meet him for lunch. Would you like to get breakfast or coffee?"

Luke beamed, "That would be great! There's a little diner named Al's, I can pick you up if you like." Luke let relief wash over him, this could be a test, if Brianna could understand his irrational behavior, maybe there was a chance of convincing Reid how much he truly loved him. He looked down at the baby staring up at him. He looked so much like Reid, Luke couldn't help wondering if this is what Reid's child would look like. But he didn't want to get ahead of himself and squelched that thought before it fully formulated.

"That would be great, would 9:00 be ok?"

"Perfect!" Luke stood up to leave. He turned toward the door.

"Uh, Mr. Snyder?"

"Hmm?" Luke turned to see her laughing at him.

"Oh," Luke turned every shade of red. "Sorry." He gave a slight smile and handed her back her son. He turned once more to look at the sketch of a relaxed Reid with the baby lying against his chest. Brianna followed his eyes. She walked over to the sketch, rolled it in her hands and pressed it into Luke's hands. Luke's eyes glassed over. He didn't even say thank you, his eyes said it for him. They stared at each other for just a minute as her eyes answered his look of gratefulness, then he turned and walked out.

As the door closed, she shook her head. She understood her brother and his affection for the sweet kid who had just left. He seemed so genuine and kind. She had a hard time correlating him with someone who blackmailed and toyed with the emotions of another person. There had to be more to the story. As much as she wanted to protect Reid, she also didn't want him to miss out on what could be the love of his life.

She took a deep breath and smiled at her baby still quiet and looking up at her. "Reid, I have a feeling that you just met your Uncle Luke."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – A Humors Morning / A Serious Talk**

Reid entered the hospital and instead of staff and nurses rolling their eyes at the sight of him they were all trying to look busy. _That can only mean one thing, _he thought. _I've probably been the topic of conversation since I left yesterday. _By tonight Katie would probably have piece of her show dedicated to him "Local rumor has it that Dr. Oliver not only has a heart, he's got a life." Oh how he missed the big city and the anonymity that it offered. He hated this small town thing where everyone wanted to be your friend, and everyone either knew or was related to the other. Despite his best attempts it was difficult not to like some people. Katie was sweet. She really wanted to see everyone around her happy. So much so that she made a damn nuisance of herself. But her intentions were good. He smiled remembering that she'd actually run down Doogie with the car. _Oh god, speak of the devil!_

"Hey Reid"

"It's Dr. Oliver to you Doogie."

"Yeah Dr. Sweetness, you call me Dr. Hughes and I'll call you Dr. Oliver."

"Is there a point to this conversation?" Reid picked up the pace as he walked toward his office.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd seen Katie."

"I do live with the woman Doogie, what is it you really want to know?"

"Well I tried to call her last night, 3 times actually, and she didn't answer."

"Well, that is encouraging, obviously my supreme intelligence is rubbing off."

Chris tipped his head to the side, "Did she mention me?"

"Would you stop panting? Otherwise I'll have to put a leash on you and tie you to the desk."

Reid turned around, "So tell me, what stroke of genius caused Katie to run you over?"

Chris beamed back at him, "She thought I was about to kiss someone else."

"And so she ran you down with the car?" Reid couldn't help but laugh, even for Katie that seemed a bit extreme.

"Well, she didn't mean to run me over you nitwit."

"No, I suppose not, still, it is humorous." Reid couldn't suppress his laugh.

"So she didn't tell you about any of this?" Chris seemed a bit disappointed at this.

"Well I've been busy, she hasn't had a chance to I'm afraid. So," Reid's upper lip curled a bit with his usual sarcastic look, "no permanent damage huh? Too bad."

"Nope. In perfect shape now." Chris leaned side to side exercising his back to show how it had healed. "Oh!" His face contorted as a muscle spasm seized him and he careened forward pushing Reid's back over his desk with Chris hovering over him. Chris was holding his back with one hand and supporting his weight with the other on the side of the desk.

"What the hell! Would you get off me?" Reid screamed. Reid was in absolute shock.

"Oooh! I don't think I can move." Chris was still making due to the pain in his back, but couldn't help smile just the tiniest bit at the humor of the situation.

"What do you mean you can't move?" Reid yelled. He was looking around for a way to escape but Chris had his hand on the desk on one side of him and Reid's laptop was perched next to him on the other side. Any move was either going to crash his computer to the floor or bring Chris flat against him.

"I mean I can't move!"

"Dr. Oliver, those test results you were so anxious for yesterday are in finally, Oh… oh my god, excuse me." Said the nurse as she shut the door and ran down the hall.

"No wait, come back here!" Reid yelled. "Oh great! Come back!" Reid shouted at the long gone nurse to no avail.

"Reid? I heard you yelling" Katie was at the door wondering was the fuss was about. "Chris? Reid? What in the world?"

"Katie, help get this Neanderthal off me!" Reid yelled.

"Katie, I'm having a muscle spasm again, can you just help me over to the couch?"

Katie grabbed Chris's arm that was on his lower back and put it over her shoulders. He began to straighten and she walked him to the couch where slowly lowered himself.

"Oh not in here, what's wrong with the Dr.'s lounge?" Reid said between gritted teeth.

"Reid, have a heart," Katie said. "Can't you see he's in pain?"

Reid was flushed with aggravation and shock at the whole scenario and for once was speechless.

"I have rounds," he said quickly and left the two in his office.

As the door shut Katie and Chris burst into laughter. Katie asked Chris who Reid had been yelling for and Chris told her how a nurse had come in and assumed the worst and the continued laughter kept Chris in perpetual pain but they couldn't help it.

Reid rounded a corner and passed a nurses station. It was very quiet as he passed by but after passing he heard them all erupt into laughter. _Great! _He thought. _Now they will all think I have a thing for Doogie._ Could this day start off any worse?

Luke arrived right on time to pick Brianna up for breakfast. If she was anything like Reid he didn't want to be showing up late. He knocked at the door. Brianna answered, her hair soaking wet, wearing a robe, and looking flustered with the baby propped up on her shoulder.

"Good morning Luke, I'm so sorry, it hasn't been a good morning. It shouldn't take too long for me to get ready. Do you mind?"

No that's fine, take your time. "It's just that Reid has been so grumpy this morning and I couldn't seem to get anything done."

"Reid was grumpy with you?"

Brianna grinned. "Not that Reid," she said humorously, "this one." As she said it she thrust the baby at him and ran off into the bedroom. "I've fed him and changed him and I have no clue what he wants."

Luke laid the baby down on the sofa, straightened out the blanket and swaddled him up securely. The wailing cried began to lessen and Luke yelled. "Binky?"

"In the crib" she yelled from the bedroom. "But I couldn't get him to take it."

Luke walked in and picked the pacifier out of the crib. "You'll take it for me won't you little guy?"

The baby, settled after the secure swaddle wrapping, only gently cried now and when Luke put the pacifier in his mouth he spit it a few times then sucked it in and quieted completely. Luke had a satisfied smile on his face as Brianna slowly walked in with a surprised look on her face.

"He's quiet." Her bewildered expression asked the question before she did, "How do you know your way around babies so well?"

Luke smiled feeling a bit proud of himself. "I have 3 younger siblings," he said, "and the youngest is now only five. I got to do this kind of thing a lot."

"Well I should finish getting ready. I'll just be a few minutes now that I can concentrate." She flashed him her winning smile. The smile that was so much like the one's Reid rarely showed.

Luke looked around and sat down in the rocking chair with the infant. His tall frame almost too big for Katie's chair. He began to rock the baby that was all but asleep now. Somehow knowing that the baby was named after Reid gave him an odd affection for the baby and Luke felt an odd peaceful feeling wash over him as he stared down at the child with tiny auburn curls poking out from the edge of his cotton cap.

A few minutes later he saw Brianna through the door of the nursery. She had emerged from the bedroom and rushing around the house looking for this thing and that to throw in the diaper bag. Finally she said, "Ok ready to go."

Luke had expertly hooked up the car seat in his back seat and drove them to Old Town. He'd also been the one to disconnect the carrier and carry the baby with them into Al's. They sat down in a booth in the corner. Luke wanting to be as hidden as one could be in a small town with one prominent diner.

After they had ordered, they sat kind of in silence. Luke knew he had asked for this opportunity to talk but now he wasn't quite sure how to start. The silence got a bit awkward.

Brianna began, "Luke, I wanted not to like you. But the fact is every moment I spend with you I like you more. I can certainly see why my brother cares for you so much. But.."

Luke interrupted, "He cares for me? Are you sure?"

Brianna looked suddenly guilty. She didn't come here to betray her brother's feelings. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all." She started to stand up.

"Oh please no. Wait. I won't ask you to share anything you aren't supposed to I promise. Let me just figure out where to start here."

She looked uncertain and then relaxed in the booth. "Well Mr. Snyder, perhaps you can tell me why you've been dragging my brother out of his shell only to throw him back in it."

She looked serious and protective. It made Luke squirm a bit. He bit his lip for a second and then began to speak. "I guess that's because I'm a complete idiot he stated."

Luke begin to explain to Brianna how he'd been in a serious relationship when he'd met Reid. He explained how he'd felt responsible for blinding his former lover and how desperate he'd been to have Reid treat Noah. He talked about his biological father and how his wealth and influence had persuaded Luke to bring Reid here any way he could. He told her how he'd gone through difficulty after difficulty alone because Noah didn't want him around. He told her of the guilt that he felt for bringing Reid here the way that he did and how he'd testified at court for Reid to make up for it. He glossed over it trying to explain the story quickly. But then he slowed when it got to certain parts.

"I really lost my temper with him a few times. He's so snarky!" Luke said.

Brianna laughed, "Oh you've only touched the surface of his witticisms."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Anyway, I remember being really made and slamming him against a wall. And for the first time I realized what beautiful eyes he had." Luke blushed. "Reid made the first move of course, but I'd been well aware of him for a long time. Every time he smiled at me I got a warm feeling. And I just knew that his gruff, sarcastic demeanor wasn't how he was down deep."

"So you decided to draw him out."

"Yeah, but it wasn't like an experiment or anything, I genuinely wanted to get to know him."

"And did you? Get to know him I mean?"

"I have a bit, only as much as he'll allow."

"And?"

"And… I love him." Luke looked down at his coffee and his eyes glassed over with unshed tears.

"Then Luke why.."

"Why did I try to get back together with my ex?"

"Yes."

"I've been asking myself that question since Reid threw my out of Katie's a week ago."

"And what have you come up with?"

"Fear. Fear is the biggest thing, but also guilt."

"Guilt for what?"

"Well, Noah was my first love. Although, now I can see it was just a case of perpetuated puppy love. But I had convinced myself and everyone around me that he was the love of my life and that our love would last forever. After the surgery Noah wanted me back. I had a couple of talks with him when he was in the hospital. I explained to him how my feelings for him had changed and that I'd let him go."

"But then why.."

Luke gave a sheepish grin, "Brianna, this is embarrassing but… When I kiss Reid… I feel such passion. Well, it's overwhelming. I've never experienced anything remotely like that before. It feels like I'm burning up from the inside."

Brianna was flushed. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear this about her brother. Now it was her turn to squirm. She was grateful for the waitress who had come to clear away their plate and Luke's untouched breakfast.

"Reid excites and scares me. But I let myself get overwhelmed by it last week. We were standing in my mother's house, who make no mistake, wants me back with Noah. And I felt more desire than I'd ever even thought possible. And then to be feeling all that and look up to see Noah staring at us through the window… I just let the guilt take over to cover my fear of the unknown and yet to be experienced. I think you know the rest. I told Reid that I had "feelings" for him but loved Noah, then I asked Noah to take me back. He had a fit so I went running back to Reid and hurt him even more."

"Wow," was all she said.

"Yeah, I really made a mess of it. How will I ever get Reid to understand? "

"I'm not going to lie to you Luke, this isn't going to be easy."

"Do you think it's hopeless?" Luke's deep brown eyes looked huge and the unshed tears no struggled free and rolled down his cheeks.

Brianna's heart broke. Her brother had broken her heart with his devastation yesterday and Luke broke her heart today. It was obvious how much he loved Reid. Why he had made such a muck of things was still a bit of a mystery to her. But didn't we all screw up badly from time to time? She reached her hand out and covered Luke's hands that were loosely clasped on the table. "No Luke, unlike Reid, I'm an optimist. Nothing is hopeless unless we let it be."

Luke looked up at her, unsure if she was being honest or just comforting him.

"Luke, Reid understands more than you think. Don't confuse not showing emotion with not having emotion. Let's face it, Reid feels something pretty special for you or the hurt that he's been feeling wouldn't be so intense." She gave him a smile that was more in her eyes than on her pretty pink lips. "And I Mr. Snyder, wouldn't be here."

Luke smiled at her with trembling lips. "I guess you're right." He looked thoughtful, "Brianna? Why doesn't Reid show emotion much? Why is he so closed off from people?"

"I wish I could share that with you Luke, I really do, I think it would answer so many questions for you about my brother. But I can't do that. I'm sorry. That is Reid's story to tell."

It had been a long and exhausting conversation for Luke. Although he wanted advice from Brianna it was getting late and he did need to put in some hours at the foundation today.  
As they walked out of Al's he offered her a lift back home but she declined.

"No I think I'll hang around and browse the shops a bit. I'm meeting Reid for lunch in a couple of hours, I may as well stay here, but thank you."

As they started to part a group of hospital staff walked behind them and they could over hear their giggly chatter."So yesterday this girl with a baby comes in and he actually hugs her, can you believe it?" More laughter, "And then today, I walk in and he's lying on his desk with another doctor on top of him!"

"No, are you serious?"

"I'm totally serious."

"What did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I shut the door and got the hell out of there."

The laughing group walked on while Luke and Brianna stood there looking at each other. Brianna started to laugh. "What is so funny?" Luke asked. He looked really distraught.

"It's not what you're thinking Luke."

"How do you know that?"

"There is one thing I can assure you," she said. "My brother has been in a foul mood all morning."

Luke still felt a bit unsure, but accepted what Brianna said. He exchanged cell numbers with her, hugged her, and left her to browse the shops.

Luke really liked Brianna, she was easy to talk to and very compassionate. He kind of envied Reid for having a sibling his own age to talk to. It would have been so nice to have that kind of relationship during his troubled teen years. Maybe it would have kept him from getting so screwed up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – Reid's story**

As Luke reached his car he remembered something he wanted to do here in Old Town before he went to the office. He reach into his messenger back and pulled out the roll of drawing paper that Brianna had given him the night before and headed toward the small gallery.

"Can I help you?" The shop owner replied.

"Martin, hi"

"Luke, good to see you. What brings you by?"

"Well, I have a drawing here, I'd like to have it matted and framed."

"Sure thing. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I know it's just a sketch but… It has some sentimental value and I'd like to show case it I guess."

"Ah, I understand, come over here and I'll show you some ideas."

"Alright"

The shop owner flipped through some samples of mats and pointed to the frame samples on the wall and they actually made a decision within 10 minutes.

"I think you'll be pleased Luke, this will be ready tomorrow. The drawing's quite good actually. We don't get many actual original pieces around here, mostly just prints. You know the artist?"

"Yeah I do actually."

"Do you know what other kind of work he does?"

"It's a she, and no, I really don't yet know what else she does."

"Well, we're desperate around here for some talent. You know how it is in a small town like this. We've had to network to other galleries to fill the requests of people like you're grandmother."

Luke smiled, "Yeah, no reprints for Lucinda Walsh."

The shop owner didn't reply to that. "Well if your artist friend is interested in displaying some work, we do consignments. We'd love to find someone we could actually do a showing for, we haven't had a show around here in years."

"Thanks Martin, I'll pass that along. I need to run, see you tomorrow."

Luke glanced down at the drawing he was leaving behind, it was actually difficult to part with even for a day. But he knew this would be the best way of preserving it and so turned and walked back to his car.

Brianna hadn't really thought about being gone all day, but since she was traveling she had pretty much everything she needed with her anyway. She really enjoyed walking around and browsing but soon grew tired; there was a coffee shop just ahead where she could sit for a while. She was so glad that Luke had suggested that she bring the stroller. She wouldn't have been able to lug around the carrier the last couple of hours. She popped in, placed her coffee order and pushed the stroller to a small table in the corner.

As she waited for her coffee she recalled Luke's question. _Why doesn't Reid show emotion, why is he so closed off?_ She closed her eyes, remembering past events…

"_Reid wait up, I can't run as fast as you."_

"_Don't worry," six year old Reid called over his shoulder, "I know what you want."_

_He ran as fast as he could to catch the ice cream truck before it pulled away. "Hi, I need a fudge bar and a cream cycle."_

"_Sure thing kid," the man said. "That'll be a dollar fifty."_

_Reid already confident with money pulled six quarters out of his pocket, handed them to the man and sprinted back to Bree. "See told ya," he said handing her the cream cycle._

_She smiled up at her twin that always looked after her. He knew all her favorites and instinctively knew which one she wanted at any given time. It was fun that they could kind of read each other's thoughts. And it was an inside joke usually when around other kids. Reid felt superior to most of them and was correct in thinking so most of the time. He really was smart. _

_He'd been making her hang around the park lately while he watched people playing chess. It all looked like nonsense to Brianna but Reid was generally interested. The men playing had started teaching him to play and he was really getting it. She'd got in the habit of bring her coloring book and crayons with her when they hung out. He always wanted her to tag along but it was so boring. _

Brianna thanked the kid who brought her coffee and continued to let memories flow through her mind.

"_But I don't want to play at these competitions," Reid complained, "I like to play for fun."_

"_Come on Son, don't you want to show off?"_

"_No Dad, I want to go play."_

Brianna remembered the usual argument that ensued each time right before their parents dragged them all off to a chess event. Reid was brilliant, he never lost a game. Their parents were so proud. They literally beamed over their son with the high IQ. And it seemed that it was one competition after another. Little time for them to play or have fun. Brianna had gotten used to brining her paper pad and colored pencils with her as she had quickly outgrown her coloring books

The pattern had continued for a year and a half. Since they had turned seven and Reid had asked for a chess set for a birthday present. Brianna had asked for an art set, her parents hadn't been too surprised, but were shocked that their son had asked for a chess set.

"_You mean checkers don't you son?"_

"_No dad, I know the difference, I really want a chess set." The innocent Reid looked at his dad with big excited green eyes._

"_Alright son, chess it is, I'll even show you how to play if you want." _

_Reid just laughed at that and shot a knowing look at Bree. She smiled knowing exactly what he thought. _

Their dad had been knocked over when his seven year old son had beat him at the game, not once but five times. Their dad had swiftly entered his son in every competition he could find or travel to. He began hauling the family around to events.

When they were nine she remembered feeling really strange. It wasn't really her though, she remembered feeling strange because Reid felt strange. They hadn't been the dynamic duo so much that year. She was off doing girl stuff and he was hanging out with the boys. They still found time to sit on the swings in their back yard and talk though.

"_What gives Reid? You feel funny." She asked the question with the little statement as they sat on the swings._

"_What?"_

"_I said you feel funny."_

"_Would you get out of my head Bree, it's creepy!"_

"_Well I don't want to be there silly. But it's not creepy to me."_

"_Why not?"_

_Brianna started to laugh. "Cuz every time I get in trouble you come running in and take the blame." She beamed at that, "I haven't been punished since before Christmas."_

"_Wish I hadn't," Reid pouted._

_Brianna felt kind of guilty then. "So why do you feel so funny?"_

_Reid wasn't sure really what to say. "Bree, you know my friend Chad?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_What do you think of him?"_

"_He's c-u-t-e," she said drawing out the word. "Cutest boy in 3__rd__ grade."_

"_Yeah he really is isn't he?"_

That was the beginning. Reid had realized he was gay. He'd innocently tried to tell their parents and ask them questions but they'd gone ballistic. They'd told him over and over that he was confused or mistaken. But if there was one thing Reid always was it was sure of himself. He'd persisted that he didn't like girls; he thought boys were cute and Dad had locked him inside the tiny closet under the stairs.

Reid didn't cry, he never cried. But Brianna knewl his anxiety. Their dad was so mad that he'd left the house and their mom had just sat in the kitchen. Brianna remembered stretching out on the floor in front of the closet door, reaching her tiny hand under the door to touch Reid's. He'd laid his hand over hers. This had been how she comforted her brother for the next couple of years. Dad always resorted to locking him up whenever the subject of Reid's sexuality came up.

Reid had grown more and more resentful. Not understanding why his Dad was doing this to him but he wasn't going to be his father's pet genius anymore so he'd refused to play chess. That had infuriated their father. He'd once again locked his son in the closet and attempted to take their mother and Brianna for a drive. Brianna had thrown a fit, refusing to go and they'd finally let her go back into the house while they drove away.

"_It's been a long time now Bree. Is it dark yet?"Reid asked his sister the question as he gasped for air._

"_Yeah, it is."_

"_Maybe they aren't coming back."_

"_They have to come back silly, they're our parents."_

"_I hate it in here, and I threw up a while ago, and I feel sick again."_

"_I know, just hang on ok? They have to come back soon."Little tears slid down her face._

"_Don't cry Bree, I'll be ok." The scared little boy tried to suck it up for his sister, but inside the closet he was drenched with sweat._

Brianna remembered how they had stayed there for about 8 hours, her hand then too big to fit all the way under the door. She'd slid just her fingers under and Reid had laid his hand over them the way he always did. Extracting that bit of comfort as he struggled through the feeling of anxiety.

Their aunt and uncle had come into the house during the night, expecting them to be in bed. They were surprised to find them under the stairs. It took them a while to locate a key to let Reid out and they were horrified to realize that it had been purposefully done and that it had happened more than once. The twins found out that their parents had been in a fatal car accident. While it was scary and sad for the 12 year old twins, it was also a new beginning. Their new home with their aunt and uncle was loving and kind and Reid hadn't been pressured to be something he wasn't.

Reid had become sarcastic and withdrawn and was never quite able to let go of his resentfulness of their father. He carried it carried with him. Even though he loved their new home he never quite trusted that it would always be safe. But their uncle Oliver Danly had supported Reid to no end, and finally won his trust over. It was a hard road but finally Reid knew a father that he could trust. They were only 16 when Uncle Oliver died of a brain aneurism and Reid had been really crushed. He'd asked his aunt about changing his last name from Jenkins to Oliver and Aunt Judy busting with pride had helped him to do it.

Brianna was jolted from her reminiscing when her phone rang and the baby began to cry at the same time. She answered her phone and balanced it on her shoulder while removing her son from the trappings of the carrier/stroller combo. "Well hello brother of mine."

"Hey, still on for lunch?"

"Yeah I'm nearby actually, I've been waiting. But I think I'm going to have to feed the boy here first."

"Quite a set of lungs he's got there. He sounds as bad as I feel. Where are you?"

"I'm at this little coffee shop, I think it's called Java."

"Yep, it's a popular place in this town. I can be there in twenty minutes after I finish up a report, but try to get the kid happy before I get there huh? I've had a rotten morning."

"Yeah I know you've been peeved all day, but I just have one question."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Well, what on earth were you doing on your desk with a doctor on top of you?"

"What? How the hell could you possibly know about that?" Reid's voice had reached a new pitch.

Brianna laughed, "Well, this really IS a small town."

"Oh," he said simply. He sounded almost relieved.

"You're happy about that?" She giggled, "Reid you're slipping."

Reid laughed out loud for the first time that day. "You know for the first time since I came to Oakhell I'm actually glad for the gossip train. There for a minute, you had me considering a lobotomy."

They both laughed a bit over that one and hung up their phones.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – Luke Makes a Decision**

By the time Reid arrived Brianna had finished nursing the baby, burping him and was just about to put him back in the stroller. "Oh hey, don't do that." Reid put his arms out requesting his nephew. "Come here Reid. I need to spend all the time that I can with him until you two leave."

"Well we have plenty of time, you don't have to worry. Although I'm not sure how long we can impose on Katie."

"You never said how long you were going to be here."

"No I didn't, actually I can stay as long as I like. Little Reid and I don't have any pressing commitments. Do we Reid?" Brianna would have liked for things to be different. She hadn't planned on getting pregnant. She wasn't too unhappy with the news but little Reid's father wasn't exactly pleased. He'd come to see his son once when they first came home from the hospital but he hadn't been back. Brianna had been a bit lonely during her pregnancy. There had been no one to share her experiences with except for a few girlfriends and buddy of hers. It felt good to be here with her brother. Even though she loved her little cottage on the beach she realized she wasn't anxious to return to it.

"Well we can discuss all that later. Right now I'm starving. What sounds good?"

"Well a salad sounds great to me." Reid crinkled up his nose at that. "Yeah I know, my brother the carnivore wants some kind of heart unhealthy meat." She laughed.

"There's a little diner just down the walk here."

Brianna felt a bit uneasy in case they mentioned her being there with Luke that morning. "Uh sure," she said.

Sensing her uneasiness Reid looked at her, "What?"

"Oh nothing, let's go."

Reid was hungry, he was always hungry. So he didn't question her too much. He carried his nephew as she pushed the stroller out of the coffee shop and toward the diner.

Once inside Reid finally place the baby into the stroller. He was asleep now and Reid would need both hands for the enormous burger he was about to order.

Although Brianna was grateful for a different waitress than this morning, she didn't feel comfortable with keeping secrets from her brother. "Reid, I have something to tell you."

Again Reid sensed her uneasiness and his sister square in the face. "What is it Bree, is anything wrong?"

"Well I hope not but, Reid… Last night while you were sleeping someone came by."

There was always some survey or solicitor at the door but Reid realized pretty fast that isn't what she meant. "Ok, lay it on me"

She could see and sense his irritation. He began with his hard eye stare. "Reid Oliver you wipe that look off your face right now. You can give it to the rest of the world but not me."

His face relaxed and he was immediately sorry. That look was second nature to him, but he didn't ever look that way at Bree. It's just that his feelings were so raw. "I'm sorry, you're right." He took her hand in his, "forgive me?"

She smiled at him letting him know that she'd forgive him anything and then began her confession. "Your Mr. Snyder came by. He was looking for you but I asked him if it could wait."

"Well thanks for that. If that's all you had to say why so serious?"

"Err, well, he stayed for a while. We talked a bit."

"And?"

"Reid, I really like him."

"Yeah so do I, but"

"Reid, please don't be too upset, I had breakfast with him this morning. Right over there as matter of fact."

"Bree!"

"Reid," she said in a soft voice to calm him. "It's not at all how you think it is."

"Brianna you haven't even been here a whole 24 hours and already you're consorting with the enemy!" Reid closed his eyes, Bree was all he had, he needed her in his corner not Luke's. How on earth did Luke win over everyone he met?

"Reid, I know you're hurt. You have every right to be. But do you want to keep hurting?"

"That's a stupid question Brianna, stop drinking the water around here, it's giving you brain damage."

Reid rarely used his snarky wit on Bree so when he looked up and she was silently laughing he couldn't help but laugh too.

"Ok, ok, what is it you want to tell me?"

"I want you to know that I really like him, and I know that you really love him. I'd like you to talk to him."

The food was brought to the table at that point. "Brianna, if Luke wants to talk, I may listen. I can't promise I'll talk too. But it won't be today or tomorrow. I need some time."

"Fair enough." Brianna tried to smile at him but she sensed and saw the pain he was in. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. "I'd give anything for you not to be hurting like this."

Reid took a deep breath, "I'm ok Bree, stop worrying. Save your mother hen routine for that little guy." He looked over at his nephew and then back at Brianna. The hurting actually subsided then. He realized how fortunate he was. He was an absolute ass most of the time, and yet he was loved unconditionally. He repeated to himself the mantra Luke had given him in Texas, "Don't be an ass!"

Luke went home that afternoon with a resolve that hadn't been there before. He knew his life needed some changes. He'd been hiding behind the idea that he was living with his mother to help out with Faith, but Faith had been living with his dad for weeks now. The truth was he just hadn't wanted to be alone. But living with his mother now wasn't healthy. She treated him like her best girlfriend when she wanted advice and like an overbearing mother when he needed counsel (even if he didn't ask for it).

He loved his mom; he wanted her to be happy. But, it was time that he started to live his own life. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. "Mom, are you home?"

"Hi baby, I was just going to go over to the farm. Nathan's been keeping your grandma company this afternoon. But I'm sure she'd had her fill of him by now."

"Mom, could that wait just a minute?"

"Sure baby what's up?" she walked over to the sofa by where he was standing and sat down facing him.

Luke sat down and looked Lilly in the eyes. "Mom, I know I moved in here to help with the kids, but thing seem pretty settled here now, I think it's time I got my own place."

"Oh but Luke, you have so much freedom here, and apartments are so small. With your dad living back at the farm you have his study here now and …"

"Mom, I know this is hard for you, I know it's been a tough year. I wish I could make it better for you. But Mom, I really need to do this."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure Mom." Luke saw the disappointment in Lilly's face but he just had to do this for himself. It was time. He hugged her.

Luke called a realtor that evening and set up an appointment with him for the next morning. He wasn't the slightest big interested in apartments. Luke wanted a home. It was time, time for a home of his own. Luke realized he wasn't a kid anymore. He was a man, a man with two successful businesses. He didn't need to be living at home with his parents anymore, he didn't need them like he used to, and he really didn't want them watching his every move as he tried to repair his life. He wanted their advice when he asked for it and not before. He loved them and he knew they wanted what was best for him, but it was time to man up, and make his own decisions.

The next morning he met the realtor at Java and went over his thoughts for a home. He wanted it big enough to raise a family in. He wanted a large lot. Something with lots of light (cheery since that was usually his disposition) and he wanted a pool. He really wanted something that Reid would fall in love with, but he wasn't even sure what that would be so he couldn't tell the realtor that. The realtor looked at his laptop, typed in Luke's criteria and came up with 5 listings. Two they could see right away, the other's wouldn't be ready to be seen until later that afternoon.

After looking at the first two houses Luke wasn't sure this was worth continuing. One was rustic and not quite to his taste and the other old fashioned and homey like the farm. He loved the farm but he wanted his home to feel like HIS home and not his family's home. He went to the office but didn't get much work done. All he could do was work out in his mind what he would say to Reid when he talked to him. But every scenario he played out in his mind seemed to end with Reid either walking out on him or asking him to leave.

He looked at his watch and he had only an hour before he was to meet the realtor again. Remembering his drawing would be ready he decided to head to Old Town now.

When he got to the gallery the owner was there again. He grabbed Luke's framed picture and brought it to him for inspection. It was matted with a light beige and a chocolate brown. They had even antiqued the corners of the paper and then finished in and ornate but not heavy wood frame. It gave it a kind of sepia look and to Luke it was priceless art. He absent-mindedly let his finger trace down the image of the man reclining in the picture.

"So you like it then Luke?"

"It's perfect Martin, thank you."

As Luke paid for the service the shop owner inquired again after the artist and Luke told him that he hadn't had a chance yet to talk to her, but that he would soon.

Luke continued on to Java to meet the realtor, he still had about 20 minutes before their scheduled meeting. Luke ordered his coffee and had just sat down when Brianna came through the door. She was pushing the stroller and had bags in her hands. She had obviously been shopping and was coming in for a break. Someone brushed past her and she dropped one on the floor.

Luke jumped up to help her, "Here, let me help you with that, looks like you've been having fun."

She smiled that beautiful smile of hers that reminded him so much of the man who had occupied his thoughts for the better part of the day. Luke couldn't help but be drawn to her. "For a small town you have some really interesting shops here," she said.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Have you happened to find the art gallery down the path there?"

"There's a gallery?" Her eyes lit with excitement.

"Yes, and the owner is anxious to meet you." Luke said in between sips of coffee.

"He wants to meet me? How did that come up?" She asked as she pulled little Reid out of his stroller.

"Well, uh, I took that sketch you gave me the other night in to be framed." Luke looked just the slightest bit embarrassed.

Brianna smiled warmly at him. "I see."

"No, but you can if you want to, I just picked it up actually." He pulled the treasured frame from behind his chair and untied the string, carefully removing its paper wrapping. He held it up for her.

Brianna briefly looked at the picture and then looked at Luke and the way he gazed at it. She smiled again and looked back at her work. The framing and tinting, everything was perfection. "Wow, this is really good. You had this done here? Really?"

"Yeah, in spite of what Reid says, everyone here are not hicks or idiots." Luke rolled his eyes. "Some of us here actually have a brains and use them." They both laughed at that.

"Hey Brianna, what are you doing after this? I mean… do you have a couple of hours that you could help me with something?"

"Well," She looked at her watch, a couple of hours would keep her out after Reid arrived home. But the pleading look in Luke's eyes caused her to give in. "Sure Luke, what do you need?"

A few hours later they were standing in the most magnificent house that Brianna had ever seen. It was modern and sophisticated. It had clean lines but was shaded in creams and browns, very masculine yet very comfortable. "Well what do you think?" Luke asked excitedly.

"It's incredible Luke, I absolutely love it. And it has so much light without the stark white walls." Brianna's face was completely lit up.

In the back of Luke's mind he'd been looking for a home that Reid would be comfortable in, but looking at Reid's sister, and holding the baby named for him, the thoughts fought their way to the forefront of his mind, and without being able to check himself he asked, "Do you think Reid would like it?"

Brianna's eyes clouded up with tears. This was the kind of life she'd hoped for her brother, a home, with someone who loved him. Somewhere he could be relaxed and at ease. Somewhere he could be happy. "He'd say it was ritzy and pretentious," she said. Luke started to frown. "But he'd love it, every square foot." Luke was beaming. Brianna was more certain today than yesterday of how much Luke loved her brother. It was evident in his every word and every look. And as she watched him look around the house with the baby so comfortably perched on his shoulder, she couldn't help but love Luke too. Who could help but love him?

The realtor explained that the house was just being finished. They had just textured some of the walls in the back rooms this morning which is why it wasn't available to be seen earlier. It was empty so it could have a very short escrow. Two weeks. Luke had inquired about a couple of changes to the kitchen but the rest of the house was perfect. He wanted a pool installed immediately as well and was willing to up the anty to cover it. The realtor said he would have the papers drawn up that night and messengered to Luke's office in the morning.

Luke drove Brianna home and helped unload her packages and stroller from the car. He carried them up to Katie's house but declined coming in. He didn't want an uncomfortable scene. He wanted to see Reid when he could talk to him. When he could begin to explain the mess he'd caused and apologize for the hurt that he'd caused him.

Brianna pulled her son out of the carrier before opening the door. He'd woken when they had stopped the car and got him out. He was hungry and needed to be changed and was vocally letting her know about it. She just hoped that his uncle would be in a better mood than he was.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 – Will Reid Soften Up?**

Brianna pushed open the door and began lifting her things inside the door with her one free hand. Noticing her there Reid jumped up from the sofa, to help her. "Hey let me get this stuff, you go sit down."

She went over and plopped down on the sofa. She looked over to see Katie sitting in the kitchen feeding Jacob in a high chair. "Someone's been shopping I see," she said.

"Bree, what the hell did you do here? You leave southern California to come to Hickville, IL and go on a shopping spree?" He was incredulous at the number of packages he brought in. "How did you even manage to tote this stuff around? Why didn't you call or text me? I'd have come to get you."

She laughed, well I struggled at first but then ran into Luke and he lent me a hand and drove me home," she said.

Katie wiped Jacob's chin with her eyebrows raised. She had a feeling this might be a private conversation but she was so curious she turned her back and busied herself with rinsing Jacobs little dishes.

"Bree, Luke is spending more time with you than I am. This is getting ridiculous." He looked uncertain and a bit defeated. That wasn't at all what she wanted. Not with the scheme brewing in the back of her mind.

"What would you like to do Reid? And when do you actually get a day off anyway? Of course I'd love to be spending some time with you. It's why I came here you know."

"Well it's nice to know you didn't come all this way to spend time with Luke Snyder every day!"

Katie was biting her lip at his childish response and couldn't help but turn around to steal a glance at him. He had the poutiest look on his face, like Jacob gets when he doesn't get the toy he wants. Katie couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He quickly looked at Katie in shock, he had forgotten she was there. He looked back at Bree who'd been smiling at Katie and looked back at him humorously.

They all laughed then. "How fun to have you here Brianna," Katie said. "I'm getting to see a whole new side of my roommate."

Reid cleared his throat. "I tomorrow off. Think of what you'd like to do here, I'm at your beck and call."

"Ok, Mr. Beck and call, take your unhappy nephew for a minute while I grab some supplies to change him."

Reid took the baby trying to shush him. "What's a matter little guy? Mommy neglecting you for Mr. Snyder too? We'll just have to form an alliance against that wont we? Yes we will, yes we will."

Brianna looked up at Katie as she rifled through the diaper bag and the two women rolled their eyes.

The next morning Luke sat in his office at the foundation. It had been a busy morning. He'd sat in on a meeting for Grimaldi, then had a conference call for the foundation. He'd gone over a few proposals for fundraisers and then some requests for donations. Finally, he'd had a chance to ask his assistant to fetch him a latte and sat down to look at the contract for his new home. The realtor had been very precise with details and everything seemed to be in order. Luke signed them and then called for a messenger to return them to the realty office. It was done. The house would be his in just two weeks and the pool was underway. It should be ready for a 4th of July celebration. Luke smiled with satisfaction.

This was all well and good but it wouldn't mean much if he didn't get to the business of explaining himself to Reid. He needed him to understand the depth of his feelings. Luke had tried over and over to practice his explanation, unfortunately it hadn't given him any more confidence in the outcome. He was going to have to just bite the bullet. He phone the hospital only to find out that it was Reid's day off.

He was sure that Reid would be spending the day with Brianna and little Reid, he wished more than anything that he could spend that time with them also. But he knew that Reid needed some time with his family. He couldn't help but wonder if they had any more family. After a few minutes Luke decided that maybe Reid might spare him an hour later in the day. He wouldn't know unless he tried. He looked at his cell phone again and then typed out a message.

Reid and Brianna were packing things up for a day at the park. Brianna was in charge of most of it but Reid had volunteered to make the sandwiches. He knew his sister would worry more with lettuce and tomato and junk like that and miss the whole point of it. As he was putting the mayo and mustard back in the fridge his cell phone buzzed. He looked down at the table to see it was a message from Luke.

_**Really want to talk to you. –L**_

Reid held his breath without thinking about it. This was the first invitation from Luke toward the conversation Brianna had talked to him about the other day. He both dreaded and looked forward to the talk. He missed Luke. Missed him with such ferocity that sometimes he didn't think he could go another minute without seeing him. How many times over the last week had he regretted deleting Luke's picture from his phone? _Too many damn times_, he thought. He wanted to see Luke so much he couldn't see straight, but his pride had been wounded as well as his heart and he wasn't going to give in so easily.

_**Tough!-R**_

_**I need some time with you Reid, please. –L**_

Damn! The cute blonde doesn't fight fair! He seemed to know just how to pull at Reid's heart. Although, he didn't have to pull very hard.

_**I've got plans today. –R**_

_**I know you'll be spending time with Brianna and Reid today. Could you spare me an hour or so this evening? –L**_

_**We'll see. –R**_

Reid grimaced, because that is what he was used to doing. But inside his heart beat a little faster at the prospect of seeing Luke that evening. He felt excited and anxious at the same time. What if it didn't go well? What if he had to hear once more how Noah was the love of his life. He wasn't sure he could take that.

Still packing up stuff for their day at the park Brianna stopped to look at her cell phone that was blinking like crazy.

_**I asked him to see me tonight and he didn't say no! –L**_

Brianna smiled to herself and hit reply.

_**I'll do all I can to make sure he sees you. :) **__**-B**_

Luke couldn't sit still. He didn't know what to do with himself. He was so excited, way too excited to work. He'd expected so much more of a fight from Reid. Brianna really must be working some kind of magic on him. Luke put away everything on his desk, no way could he work like this. He resigned to work on something that was productive.

He had decided that his new home would be needing some furnishings. Luke usually shied away from anything upscale, he was a pretty simple guy. But he wanted his home to have really quality things in it. Modern conveniences and yet comfort. He wasn't Lucinda, he wasn't about to sit in his office and have someone come to him, he was going to shop himself. Perhaps a trip into Chicago was in order. He would have plenty of time to drive there, pick out furnishings and be back by evening when he hoped to hear from Reid.

It was a beautiful day. Reid couldn't remember the last time that he'd actually spent time outside having fun. His idea of staying in shape was a vigorous work out at the gym not running around a park laughing and having fun. But that is exactly what they were doing. Of course having a baby with them didn't allow for too much freedom. But they were able to lay him in the shade and enjoy a game of Frisbee.

It had actually taken him several tried to recall how to throw a Frisbee. He hadn't done it since he was about seven years old. Reid was very driven, and not into socializing. This seemed so frivolous. And yet it was exactly what he needed. He was more relaxed today than he could remember being in who knows when. Certainly not in the last 15 years or more.

Now they could finally sit down and enjoy some food. Reid as always was starving. He reached into the cooler and pulled out the sandwiches that he'd made. "Reid you can't be serious!" Brianna looked aghast at her sandwich.

"Oh here, you think I wouldn't know that you wanted this? He tossed her a baggie with lettuce and sliced tomatoes." And she smiled big.

"You always will know won't you?"

He didn't answer; he just reached across, chucked her under the chin and grinned.

"But here," she said grabbing his sandwich from him. She opened his sandwich and then hers and pulled off half of the meat he'd piled on and laid it on his sandwich, closed it up and handed it back to him.

Reid rolled his eyes in mocked annoyance. "You just don't know what you're missing." They laughed briefly and he took a huge bite.

As they ate and talked Brianna couldn't help but broach the subject. "So, where are you going to meet Luke tonight?"

Reid rolled his eyes. "Good grief Bree, isn't it enough that you invade my emotions? Do you have to conspire with Luke too? Besides, I never said I would meet him."

"No but you will, and just for the record, you're no more invaded than I am. You just don't talk about it."

"True."

"But you are going to see him right? Reid you really need to. Please?"

"Good god! You're as bad as he is! Yes, yes, I'm going to see him. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic!" she beamed back at him.

Later she asked him to walk her through Old Town, explaining there was a gallery there she wanted to see.

"Bree, you can't be serious. You're not going to find anything interesting here in Oakhell."

"Oh shush Dr. Grumpypants, I want to see someone."

With everything packed in the car, the two walked along with only the diaper bag on Reid's shoulder and the baby in his arms. Reid loved holding his nephew when he wasn't screaming. The kid was pretty good looking, and would probably grow up to be devastatingly handsome like his uncle. He really liked the way that little Reid looked at him with bright little eyes as though he knew him. "Bree, what do you mean to want to see someone? You know someone here?"

"No, of course not. But someone inquired after meeting me. I wanted to stop in and introduce myself."

"Oh this is crazy," he smirked. "How could someone want to meet you? How could they even know you? I told you to lay off the water here."

"Luke had something I did framed here. And the shop owner asked to meet me silly."

Reid gave a heavy labored sigh for exaggeration. "Luke, Luke, Luke," _Is he the love of my life or hers?_ "What is he, you're best girlfriend now?"

"Oh hi, are you the owner?" Brianna asked the short middle aged man that walked out of the back shop to the desk.

"Yes, Martin, and you are?"

"My name is Briana Jenkins, a friend of mine, Luke Snyder, said I should stop by."

"Oh you did the sketch that he had framed yes?"

Reid tuned out of the conversation, but was aware of a kind of excitement emanating from his sister. Deciding not browse around he spoke softly to the baby, "Come on kiddo, she'd going to talk all her artsy fartsy stuff now, we better make our escape before our ears bleed."

Luke finished his shopping, but it took much longer than he expected. He was going to have to make up time on the drive home. Furniture was much more difficult to pick out than he thought. The techy stuff had been fun though. He loved the TV's, home theatre packages, shoot even the refrigerator shopping was fun. Who knew that you could have TV and recipes stored electronically on a fridge? One thing he hadn't got to and would have to save for later. He'd always wanted to have a pool table in his house. But for now, he just wanted to get back to Oakdale and wait for Reid.

Luke was only about 5 miles from home when his phone buzzed. His heart started to beat fast. He pulled over, not trusting himself to drive when he read it. He was afraid to read it, what if Reid said that he wasn't going to see him? Luke swallowed hard and hit the "view" option.

_**When and where?-R**_

Luke let out the breath that he didn't know he'd been holding.

_**You've never been there, the pond at my family's farm. Will send you the location. – L**_

Luke found the pond on his Gps and sent the coordinates to Reid.

_**When? –R**_

_**When can you get there?-L**_

_**Never? –R**_

_**Reid! – L**_

_**On my way. –R**_

Luke's heart was flopping around in his chest like a fish out of water. He pulled back out on the road and headed to the farm.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - Revelations**

Reid drove toward Luke's home as the Gps directed. It seemed he would have to finish up on foot. He got out of the car, his heart hammering. He walked toward the pond. He was concerned that the sky seemed to have clouded over. It had been so nice all day but now the heavy clouds hung in the air in a threatening manner.

As he walked the pond came into view. It was beautiful; most people would probably find it more beautiful when the weather was clear. But Reid with his stormy personality actually liked the quiet beauty of the pond in with the dark clouds overhead. He turned and saw Luke who seemed to jump just at the sight of him. "Hello Luke."

Luke looked happy and worried at the same time. Luke wasn't sure if the heavy clouds were causing his worry as they threatened to destroy his attempt at a private conversation or if he was just worried about what to say. He felt a drop on his arm. _Damn!_ "Hello Reid."

"I'm not sure this was a good idea. Did you check the weather by chance before you invited me into the wild blue yonder?"

Luke frowned on the outside and smiled on the inside. He both hated and loved Reid's sarcasm. "Actually no, I've been a bit preoccupied."

Just then there was a clap of thunder, a second of silence, and then pouring rain. Luke couldn't believe it. He just stood there for a second with his eyes closed in disappointment. "What the hell are you doing, Would you come on?" Reid grabbed his arm and started running for the car.

By the time they reached the car they were soaked. Reid hit the button on his key ring to unlock the doors and he motioned for Luke to get in. They both slid into the seats of the car. Luke wiped at his face, water dripping from his hair which was now plastered against his head. "Reid I'm so sorry, we're soaked."

"Yeah well next time remind me to bring towels huh?"

"Next time?"

Reid shot him an aggravated look, "You wanted to talk?"

"Uh yeah, I just planned for it to go better than this."

"I'm waiting," Reid said as he raked water from his hair. Luke noticed the way his wet hair sprang into tighter curls than usual. He longed to reach out and touch those curls but restrained himself.

"Reid, what I wanted to say is…" And the beeper went off. Now it was Reid's turn to close his eyes in disappointment with the timing.

"Damn it!" Reid looked down then reached over to start the car. "Well so much for talking. Can I drop you anywhere?"

"Yes, at the hospital." Reid glanced at Luke who looked determined.

"You can't be serious, I have no idea how long I'll be."

"I know you don't but I'm not letting this opportunity pass, I'll wait."

Reid accepted that and backed out the car. They were quiet on the fast drive to the hospital. Once there he changed into scrub and discarded his wet clothes. He managed to let Luke know that he had sweat pants and a sweat shirt in his locker that he had for breaks long enough for a run. Luke had taken the offer, changed and decided to wait in Reid's office. Time seemed to drag on. Luke finally laid down on the couch and fell asleep.

When Reid finally returned to his office he saw the sleeping Luke on the couch sleeping soundly. He looked so peaceful and beautiful to Reid. Reid almost forgot to breathe as he looked at him. He walked over and sat on the edge of the cushion and looked at him. He couldn't resist touching him. He ran his fingertips over Luke's forehead and down the side of his face.

A knock sounded at the door, and abruptly Bob walked in. Bob took in the scenario, and furrowed his brow. "I just stopped by to see how you were. I know what it's like to lose a patient, especially for a doctor like you." Luke groggily heard the conversation and struggled for consciousness.

Reid stood, and looked at Bob. "You're right, it sucks. Losing patients isn't the business that I'm in." Reid turned and looked at the wall. Anything but look in someone's eyes as he experienced the feeling of failure.

"I'm really sorry to bring this up now," Bob continued, "but it's obvious to me that there is something going on between you two and it's something we need to discuss. Do you both realize how unethical it is for the major investor of the new wing to be personally involved with the leader of the new wing? This can't happen, this hospital has a reputation to uphold."

Luke sat up quickly feeling like a deer caught in headlights. And Reid look awestruck. "Wait a minute," Reid replied. "In this small town where everyone is related to e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e, you're going to tell me that I can't date who I want?"

"That's right. The new wing can continue under your leadership or," he nodded his head at Luke, "you can have a relationship with Luke Snyder. You can't have both."

Reid set his jaw firmly. There were some things in life that he would take but he would not have his personal life dictated. "Well to be perfectly honest, I want both. But at this point I'd be willing to settle for either. What I won't settle for is having my personal or social life dictated to me. Bob, I can't begin to tell you how many levels on which I think you're wrong but let me start with this. When I came to this town I didn't like a single person in it. I was driven by work and ambition. I still have a lot of drive and ambition. But I've also developed a desire for a personal life. In no small thanks to you. You've encouraged me in that direction since I came here. I respect you Bob, hell I even like you, but I am a world renowned neurosurgeon and in am held in high esteem regardless of the recent investigation by the Texas Board of Medicine. I have a standing offer to return to Dallas, who has an excellent neurology facility by the way. I have offers from UCLA, New York, Chicago and even in few hospitals in Europe. I am not about to stand here in Hickville, IL and have you dictate my social choices to me. I'm sorry; I'm just not going to set that precedent by accepting your terms. So if you're serious then I'll begin negotiations with those offers now.

"I'm sorry too." Bob started to turn and leave.

"Wait a minute," Luke said from the couch, finally standing up with all his coherence. "I'm going to weigh in on this discussion as well."

Luke continued, "I can resign from the hospital board if you want Bob, but as long as Reid is involved I WILL continue to supervise the progress of the new wing. Quite frankly no one else that I've met brings out the humanity in "Dr. Warm and Fuzzy" over here the way I do. However, if Reid leaves this hospital then the hospital is going to suffer some blows to the progress of the new wing. I've been paying close attention when signing contracts and checks. I know what I am and am not fully committed to legally. I donated this money because of Reid. And quite frankly if he goes I go. Bob, I appreciate your position on this but let's face it. With all that's been poured into this hospital the last several years it's more than adequate to serve the needs of Oakdale."

He continued, "Building this wing is about putting Memorial on the map and you leaving a legacy behind. I understand that and I respect that, but what you'll have here if Reid leaves is a big building and that's about it. I'm not going to pour foundation money into that, it's not smart business. What I will be doing is following Reid, and I'll be ready to make donations to whatever project that he needs. Now take some time and think this over. You can talk to us both tomorrow."

A speechless Bob shook his head and walked out. Reid just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Reid was never speechless, but at this moment he couldn't think of a single thing to say. He just stood there, trying to take it all in.

Luke laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day, the incredible Dr. Oliver is speechless."

Reid just stood there letting the conversations wash over him. It was several minutes before Reid could speak. "Luke, did you just go to the mat for an opportunity to have a relationship with me?"

"What I did was declare that I wanted a relationship with you and I'd follow you around the world if necessary to be with you." Luke took a step toward Reid.

"Luke, a week ago or a bit more, you said you LOVED Noah, that you wanted him. And now you're saying you want me. It's a lot to take in."

"Reid," Luke took another step forward. "I said that, I know, and I do love Noah, I will always love Noah, but I'm not "in love" with Noah. Truth is, I haven't been in love with Noah in a long time now."

Reid had a look on his face that said _Oh Really_. But he just tipped his head to the side and didn't utter a word.

"Reid, has someone ever made you feel so much that it scared you? I mean not just a little. I mean scared the shit out of you."

"As a matter of fact, yes." Reid rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

"You know for about 3 years now I thought that I had found my soul mate in Noah. Yet never in all that time did I ever experience anything as intense as what I feel for you. Just a look from you makes my heart race and when you touch me I feel burned from the touch. It's really scary, but not nearly as scary as it's been this last week when I thought that you'd never want me again…. Reid, when I ran to Noah, I was running scared, I ran to what was familiar. And then I came and through it in your face. I can only claim temporary insanity or something on that stunt. But let me just say this. The worse part of that day was not when Noah walked out on me, it was when you asked me to leave."

Reid continued to stare at Luke, and Luke's lips began to tremble. "Reid, you're not saying anything." He whispered, "Please say something."

Reid couldn't resist the look on Luke's face. Couldn't stand to make him suffer. "Come here," he said, holding out his arms. Luke rushed to him and Reid crushed him to his chest. Luke buried his face in Reid's neck and Reid stroked his hair. "I'd like to say that everything is ok again Luke. But I'm going to need some time. Time to trust this, time to know that what you just said is for real."

Luke raised his head, resting his chin on Reid's shoulder. "I'll wait; I'll do anything you ask if you'll give me an opportunity to make this up to you." He reached up and ran his hand thru the curls at the back of Reid's neck. "I love you."

Reid closed his eyes. This was everything he dreamed and hoped for. But afraid to trust it he refrained from telling Luke that he loved him too. He turned his head to the side and kissed Luke's hair, then patted his back and said, "Come on, it's late, I'll take you home."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 – Luke is Winning Reid Over**

"No Luke, I'm not going to ask you to resign from the board. If you'd be overseeing the construction and development of the new wing what would be the point." Bob said to Luke matter of factly.

"I don't like the position you've put me in, but you made it quite clear that there will not be a neurology wing if I belabor the point, so I'm giving in, begrudgingly. One thing though. Dr. Oliver isn't the easiest guy to get along with, I'm hoping that any situation with Noah Meyer has been appropriately dealt with. I don't want the hospital or staff to have to partake in any fallout here. Dr. Oliver seems a favorite subject of the staff lately. From grapevine it's been difficult to determine if he had a young girlfriend and a new baby (which I did finally hear from Casey is his sister) or if he had a thing for my son."

"You're son? You mean Chris?" Luke began to laugh. Brianna had told him about the hilarious encounter and he could just picture Reid being pinned and yelling about it.

"You find that funny?" Bob was puzzled.

"I assure you Bob, you have nothing to worry about on that score." Bob smiled for the first time. "I'll take your word for it." Bob patted Luke's arm and walked away.

It had been two days since Luke had seen Reid, and he was anxious to see him again. Bringing back he laundered sweats was as good a reason as any. So he waited in Reid's office.

After looking around for a few minutes he decided to run over to Java and get Reid a coffee. Luke returned to find Reid sitting at his desk reviewing emails. "Hey." He wasn't sure of his reception so was pleased that he had gotten Reid's "usual" coffee, caramel latte with whip cream and extra shot.

"Hey." Reid didn't look up in his usual "keep your distance" kind of attitude.

"I brought you coffee. Your "usual."

Reid looked up to see Luke smiling at him, Luke looked so incredible when he was smiling at him that way. Reid gave him just a hint of a smile and said, "You know you're still not allowed to tell anyone I drink this right?"

"I know, I know." Luke said waving his hands in front of him. "I was here earlier, returning the sweats you loaned me the other night."

"Oh, thanks."

"Bob was here looking for you, did he find you?"

"No he didn't."

"Well he's reconsidered his position on your job and us seeing each other."

"I thought he might, as usual Mr. Snyder, you drive a pretty hard bargain."

"You know Reid, I would like to say I regret how I brought you here. I certainly am not proud of my behavior. But the fact is that you wouldn't have come had I not done that. And," he had been looking down but he let his eyes drift up and looked at Reid through his lashes. "I'm really glad you're here. And the one thing I know for sure is that I don't want you to leave."

Reid's upper lip curled a bit and he turned away. Luke grabbed his arm and stepped closer. "You don't want me to say things like that?"

"It's not that Luke."

"Then what is it?"

Reid turned back around and looked that the handsome blonde. "I've wanted you to say that for a long time. And after a couple of weeks ago when you came to my home professing your love for Noah, I gave up hope of hearing that. Now it's just really hard to trust what you're saying."

"Well I'm going to be hanging around proving it to you for as long as it takes." He put his hand against Reid's chest. "I promised you Dr. Oliver, I will win you're trust!" Luke was staring right into his eyes and it was more than Reid could resist.

Reid put his hands on Luke's shoulders and pulled him in close, covering Luke's mouth with his own. The feel of the soft, warm pink lips against his own caused his head to spin. Reid knew how quickly that fire ignited between the two of them, and that he still had several hours of his shift left. So when he felt Luke's soft tongue against his lips he pulled away. "Luke, don't distract me too much. I have a shift to finish and I need to be able to focus."

"Yeah, right, you're right." Luke stammered and looked around.

"Hey why don't you come over to Katie's this evening? I'm not sure what Katie is up to but we could all hang out and have a pizza. I need ally among all the females and babies in that small place."

Luke beamed at the invitation. "I'll be there!"

As the door closed Reid was still smiling. How did he, ever fall for a guy that displayed his every emotion on his face and his eyes? And when Reid usually found that so repulsive, why was it so adorable on the gorgeous blonde that occupied too many of his thoughts?

When Reid returned home that evening Katie and Brianna were sitting at the table looking over some of Brianna's work. Katie was telling her what pieces she liked best and which drawings she'd be interested in seeing painted. "Hey," Reid said to them, "What are you two up to over here."

Katie piped up first. "Brianna and I were just looking at some of her things, The gallery owner in Old Town would like to do a showing for her."

"And art showing? Here?" Reid always seemed amazed to find culture or interesting events in this small town. It wasn't so much the size of the town but everyone knowing or being related to each other.

Brianna didn't say anything she just smiled, knowing that Reid would pretty much know her thoughts on it.

"Yes Reid, here." Katie rolled her eyes.

"I thought I saw Luke's car outside," he said changing the subject.

The girls had their heads down again looking at drawings. "He's in there." Bree pointed to him without looking up.

Reid went to the door and carefully opened it in case the babies were asleep. Luke was sitting on the floor of the nursery, holding little Reid on his shoulder with one hand and playing with blocks with another hand with Jacob. As the door drifted quietly open he just leaned against the door jam taking the sight in. Luke seemed to be so at ease with kids. Reid was a bit in awe at watching him.

Jacob was the first to notice Reid, giving a squeal of delight. Luke looked up at Reid not quite reading the look on his face. But Reid turned his attention immediately to Jacob who was now making his way across the floor. He reached up and scooped the boy up into his arms.

"Looks like you've got a fan there," Luke said as he stood up.

Reid smiled, "Yeah he's one of the few people that seems to like me in spite of myself."

"What he likes is your Justin Timberlake impressions," said Katie as she popped in.

"YOU SING?"

"Ka-tie," Reid growled.

"So which of you gets to feed Jacob? Brianna and I are busy."

"Err, Luke does," Reid piped up so fast that Luke didn't have a chance to respond and quick as anything Reid leaned into Luke exchanging babies.

Luke knew what was coming and looked at Reid who had a self satisfied grin on his face.

Jacob did like to play with his food, but Luke had a few tricks up his sleeve, after all he was no stranger to this. He managed to get enough in the child and very little outside, and he himself came out unscathed. Katie was duly impressed. Reid was slightly disappointed. After all, had Luke been a mess, then he would have needed to change. Reid quickly averted his thoughts to food. "Ok, what does everyone want on their pizza?"

Everyone chimed in with their favorites and Reid called and placed the order. The girls finally finished looking at the art stuff and they had all settled down for a movie with their pizza. The movie for Reid was a doze. Luke had weighed in with the girls and it ended up being some chick flick. After the pizza he had found it pretty difficult to stay awake and had finally given in to his heavy lids. When he woke some time later, the sound had been lowered and the menu screen of the movie was on. Luke was snuggled up against him breathing softly and evenly.

Katie and Brianna had taken the kids and gone to bed and here he was with a darkened room and a sleeping Luke. If he woke Luke now, where might things lead? But they were in the living room of Katie's house with Katie and Bree and their babies all here. _Great, finally I have the man I wanted and I can't do a thing with him_, he thought.

He shifted into a more comfortable position and Luke didn't wake up only quietly moaned. His jeans felt tight, _If only I'd changed into scrub pants before the movie_. At least Luke was asleep and couldn't see the effect he had on him. Once he comfortably settled down to sleep, Luke seemed to instinctively move in more comfortably as well. With nothing else to do, Reid closed his eyes for the night. The dreams that danced behind his closed lids however was nothing like the innocent position in which they now lay.

Luke woke first, it was the happiest he'd awaken in he couldn't remember when. He woke with his head on Reid's shoulder and his hand on his chest, feeling the beat of the heart he wanted to own. It was intoxicating. Better than alcohol had ever been. Looking up at Reid's face he looked so scrumptious. No sign of the sarcastic or wearied look that Reid so often wore. He looked peaceful and satisfied. Luke's gaze settled on Reid's mouth. His lips were slightly parted and you could just see the edges of his round pearly teeth.

Without thinking it through, Luke stretched up and began kissing Reid's parted lips. Reid began kissing back, and the gentle sweet kiss that Luke had started became wild and passionate in seconds. Luke's head swam. He felt Reid's tongue exploring his mouth and rubbing against his own tongue. Luke almost couldn't breathe and as quickly as the passion had come, so was the end of the kiss. Luke was being pushed away as Reid quickly sat up.

Luke was in shock and didn't quite know what to think. Reid looked a bit disoriented. "I'm sorry," Reid said in a raspy morning voice. "I was dreaming and apparently got carried away."

Light dawned for Luke. "Dreaming. I see. But just for the record, I initiated the kiss."

"Oh," Reid's only comment to that was a smile. He really should smile more, he had an award winning smile in Luke's opinion.

Luke leaned toward Reid and kissed him again. This time it was slow, hot. Reid kissed him expertly biting at Luke's bottom lip and running his tongue along the back of his teeth. Luke touched Reid's tongue with his own and Reid moaned. Luke wondered how a kiss could be so erotic. He felt like he was burning up, but Reid ended the kiss again.

"Luke we can't do this here and I have to be at work in just a few hours." Reid's breathing was labored and he looked as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You're right." Luke glanced in the direction of the bedrooms where Katie and Brianna still were.

"But spend some time with me, let's go to breakfast." Luke looked pleadingly at him.

Reid looked at his bedroom door knowing his sleeping sister wouldn't mind him going but still feeling a pang of guilt for leaving her. He looked back at Luke and just couldn't resist the look on his face. The hold that Luke had on his heart was like being held in the grip of a vice. Yet it wasn't painful, at least not anymore. "Alright," he acquiesced. "I need to grab a shower."

"Ok, I'll grab breakfast, meet me at the pond again, no rain this time I promise."

Reid gave Luke a look that said, _Are you serious?_ But Luke just beamed back at him and Reid realized that there was little in life that he would be able to deny this blonde beauty. It was those huge brown eyes that got him every time.

Luke had grabbed some breakfast sandwiches from Al's he made sure that Reid's was a meaty specialty. He got both orange juice and latte's (from Java) and drove quickly to the farm. Reid pulled up at precisely the same time and Luke was glad that he had rushed. He pulled a blanket from the trunk of his car and Reid helped him carry the drinks.

The morning was beautiful. Still a bit nippy out this morning, but the sky was clear and blue and the water on the pond was still, some birds were chirping but there were no other sounds. Luke spread the blanket out on the ground, sat down and patted the spot next to him. Reid shook his head. He'd never sat outside for breakfast in his life. He sat next to Luke and began to sip his coffee which was cooler now than he usually preferred. Yet somehow, this was the best coffee he'd ever had.

"I think I got a breakfast sandwich that is worthy of you Reid." Reid cocked an eyebrow at that.

"Well we'll just have to see about that wont we?" Luke handed it to him and Reid opened it up and inspected the contents. "Ok, quite impressive."

Luke flashed him a smile that almost stopped his breath. Reid felt speechless so shoved the sandwich in his mouth taking a huge bite.

"I love spending time with you, this is the best I've felt in weeks now." It was a simple statement but hearing it meant the world to Reid. He wanted to take things slow, be assured that this feeling of Luke's wasn't fleeting or imagined. But Luke was making that very difficult. Reid had loved this kid for months now and with Luke fulfilling his every fantasy of conversation and kissing him all the time how would he be able to resist. He knew his resolve was weakening rapidly.

"Luke, are you sure I'm the one you want? I want so much to believe that I am, but it's difficult to trust." He was tempted to say more and was afraid of babbling again so he shoved the remainder of his sandwich in his mouth.

"I know I hurt you Reid, I'm more sorry for that than I can ever tell you." Luke heaved a sigh. "I know you're afraid of me and my fickle behavior. But.." Luke was unsure of what to say, how to convince Reid to just let things happen between them. "If I promise to stop trying to get you to talk, stop pulling you out of your shell and let you talk to me in your own time… will you just let things happen between us and not continuously hold yourself back from me?"

Reid looked at Luke, seriously for a few seconds. He wanted to trust this so badly. He wanted Luke so badly. He said nothing but nodded his head at Luke affirmatively.

Luke smiled so big it looked like his face might split and Reid couldn't help but smile back.

**Sorry this chapter took so long, its rough to write when traveling. I'll be out of touch for a few days and hopefully will get another chapter up Wed. Thurs at the latest. Thanks for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – A First Date**

Luke was happy today. Just another five days or so and the house would close and he could have the furniture delivered. Things seemed to be going well between him and Reid. Life was good. Luke thought it might be a good idea to drop by and see how the pool installation was coming. He thought about calling the realtor but then thought that maybe a surprised visit would be ok. After all, he'd much rather talk directly to the contractor. Luke since he wanted things to move fast he'd opted for a fiberglass pool.

Luke stopped by, walked around to the back where he could hear men talking. He met the contractor and spoke with him for a few minutes as he looked at the work that was being completed. The pool was in the ground and the plumbing was in place. According to the contractor the concrete was going to be poured later in the afternoon. Luke was pleased with the progress, and told the contractor how happy he was that this would be finished by the time that the house closed.

The contractor wasn't naïve, he knew that he had the opportunity to ingratiate himself with a whole new clientele if kept this customer happy. And Luke Snyder had been more than happy to pay whatever price to get this pool in quickly. "Mr. Snyder, I've taken the liberty of installing something else for you as well." Luke looked at him quizzically. He walked Luke down the outside of the back of the house toward the master bedroom. There where the French doors opened up there was now a small deck with a hot tub. It was complete with sound system and a small bar fridge.

"This is amazing!" Luke beamed at the treasure outside of his future bedroom door.

He watched as the contractor removed the cover and showed that it was already filled and heated. Luke was in love, and this time it was with the hot tub. Why hadn't he thought of this?

He exchanged pleasantries with the contractor and then went back to his car. _Time to put in some work for the day_, he told himself. Today wouldn't be the worst day ever he actually had to meet Reid at the hospital to go over some things for the new wing. Any excuse to see Reid was a good excuse. He needed to get as much done today as possible until then. He was certain that after he saw Reid that work would be the furthest thing from his mind.

As the afternoon trickled by Reid was getting tired and grumpy. Every nurse, intern, or orderly either had some all knowing grin when he looked at him or was a complete moron forgetting their responsibilities entirely leaving Reid to remind them what to do continuously. Ever since that damned encounter with Doogie it was all grins at Memorial all the time.

_Oh god, speak of the devil._ "Reid, you got a minute?" Chris was all dimples today. He seemed to find always the most annoying time to show up. Reid picked up his pace trying to ignore the guy.  
"Reid!"

"What is it this time Doogie?"

"Katie of course, I want to do something nice for her and I thought that you could help me out."

Reid laughed, "And why would I want to do that?"

"Ah, come on, throw a dog a bone here, help me out, you spend a lot of time with her. You must have some ideas."

"Look Doogie, contrary to popular belief gay men do not think like women. I don't have any more idea about what they like than you do."

Chris looked incredibly disappointed and showed no signs of leaving Reid's office that they had finally arrived at.

"Come on, you don't have any ideas?"

"Here," Reid made a face, grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and jotted a number down. "This is my sister's number. She and Katie have been spending loads of time together, and she's almost as much of a matchmaker as Katie is." Reid turned and leaned against his desk, not the slightest bit aware that he was in the same position as the last time Doogie had come into his office.

Chris was happy and feeling playfully humorous. He stepped forward and threw his arms around Reid in a grateful hug.

"What the hell are you doing? Don't hug me you moron!" Reid tried to push him away and Chris let out a yowl and fell onto Reid just as before. "My god, you have to be kidding me, this can't be happening again!" Reid was yelling.

Luke who was just walking down the hall heard Reid yell and ran for his office. When he took in the sight he couldn't help but laugh.

Chris was laughing too and straightening up. "Yeah, I was kidding." Chris was shaking with laughter now. "It's not very often we see the incredible Dr. Oliver caught off guard. I just couldn't resist since you set yourself up exactly as before."

"You MORON! You did that on purpose?" Reid looked over Chris's shoulder to see Luke laughing his head off. "Oh you find this funny do you Mr. Snyder?"

"Hoo Hoo," laughed Chris, "I couldn't believe that you set yourself up standing in the same spot as last time."

"That's a pretty nifty trick there Chris, can you show me your moves?" It took Chris a few seconds to recover from the laughter before he could respond.

"Sure thing." Chris knew from Katie that things were brewing between him and Reid and so grabbed Luke by the wrist, hauled him into the office. He placed Luke right where he'd been standing. Chris knew a lot about pressure points and knew exactly what to do.

Reid had a look of incredulity on his face like he was watching some kind of freaky movie. Still in shock over having Doogie land on top of him again and having Luke standing at the door laughing.

Luke stood where Chris had placed him not sure what to expect when he felt Chris place two finders into his lower back."Ah!" He suddenly felt a quick sharp pain and lunged forward onto Reid. The pain was gone as quickly as it had started, and the both turned to see Chris smiling and waving as he closed the door. "Well isn't he the handy one to have around?" Luke had a devious smile on his face."

"Well I'm not sure I appreciate being the brunt of jokes around here," Reid said pushing Luke upright.

He was just about to say something else when Luke's mouth covered his. Luke slipped his arm around to Reid's lower back and all coherent thought left Reid. The kiss was harsh at first to silence Reid but softened almost immediately. Reid struggled a bit at first but Luke pulled back slightly and kissed his way to Reid's ear and whispered. "Remember you said you'd let things happen."

The feel of Luke's breath on his ear sent shivers down his spine and Reid felt an intense heat starting at his chest and spreading through his body. He felt Luke's hand go inside of his scrub shirt and up his bare back and his jeans began to tighten. "Ok I'm all for letting things happen but you do remember we have a meeting right?"

"Grrr, you're right." Luke seemed genuinely disappointed at the memory even though he loved working on this project. "You're off work after this right?"

"Yes Luke, I am." Reid said that so seductively that Luke's knees almost gave out.

Reid grabbed a file folder off his desk, and lightly hit Luke on the head with it. "Come on, we're late."

Luke was a bit disappointed to see that Reid could just get up and leave like that but, as he walked along side Reid and noticed how the confident doctor strategically held the file folder for covering until the bulge in his pants subsided, Luke couldn't help but feel a slight thrill.

After the meeting Luke walked back with Reid to his office. "How about dinner?"

"Dinner? You mean like a date?" Reid looked a little surprised.

"Yes Reid, like a date."

"But, what about Bree? I feel bad just to leave her at home."

"Yeah you have a point there. Well how about we go by Metro and get one of Teresa's gourmet dinners and take it home to Brianna?"

"Who's Teresa and what kind of gourmet dinner?" Reid looked at Luke like he'd grown horns. He just didn't get this small town life yet where everyone knew everyone's names. "I better just check with Bree, because if Katie's staying in tonight then we need dinner for four and not three."

Luke busied himself looking around the office while Reid made his phone call. He was trying not to listen in when Reid's voice rose. "What do you mean you have a date? With whom? What about the baby? Who the hell could you possibly have a date with, you haven't even been here that long?"

Luke couldn't help but be amused. Reid sounded like someone's father. He was actually giving her the third degree. He listened again and heard the conversation continue. "You met him at the hospital, well that cinches it, everyone here are idiot. Well, what's his name? Casie? Casie? As in Hughes? Bree he's an idiot, he smiles all the time, and he's ridiculously younger than you."

Luke couldn't help but laugh out loud. He took the phone from the enraged man and spoke very quietly so that Reid had to be still even to hear him. "Reid, Casie is my best friend so I caution you to be nice since I happen to be standing here listening. And as far as smiling all the time, your sister smiles all the time, and she's not an idiot. And I am younger than you are. You need to calm down."

"But.."

"Reid, you need to calm down."

"But…"

"Reid?"

"Alright, give me my phone back." Reid wasn't so sure about this but after his initial shock wore off he realized that his sister was a free spirit, she never took his advice unless she wanted to and she wasn't about to change now. "I'm sorry Bree, yes I know you are a grown woman. Yes I know, alright I'm sorry. Yes I know, Bree I said I was sorry. Ok, so what are you doing with the baby? And he's ok with that? What time will you be home? Sheesh, ok, good grief it was just a question." Reid's eyes were big and Luke couldn't help but smile as he was clearly seeing Reid getting told off and actually taking it. "Ok then, I guess I'll see you when I see you." Reid ended the call and looked at Luke. He looked a bit unsettled and well, kind of lonely. "I guess I'm free for dinner."

"Great," Luke smiled, "Well, since Brianna is have a night out, let's do something really different."

Reid eyed him suspiciously. "What did you have in mind?"

"How about we have a romantic dinner in Chicago, and spend the night and come back in the morning?"

"I can't do that, I have to work tomorrow."

"Reid, your shift doesn't start until early afternoon, we'd be back in plenty of time. Brianna is out for the evening. This would be good for you."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because you've been sleeping on the Katie's couch for over a week now. This will be better for your back."

Reid couldn't argue with that logic so he gave the argument that he could, "But I hate hotels, they're so unsanitary."

Luke smiled, "Just leave it to Richie Rich, I'll make sure that everything is up to the standards of Dr. Oliver. Remember your promise Reid, just go with this, please?"

Reid actually wanted to go so badly. Just the thought of spending the night with Luke… he felt a bit giddy and yet afraid. If only things had gone this way a few weeks ago, he'd be on cloud nine. But now, now he was just scared, and yet terribly excited.

"Reid, earth to Reid." Luke was wondering where Reid had drifted off to. Reid snapped his attention back to Luke and Luke continued. "You go home, grab an overnight bag and I'll pick you up in about a half hour."

"Ok."

As Luke drove away from the hospital he felt bad that Reid seemed so unsure. But Luke really wanted the opportunity to spend quality time with Reid. He snapped his blue tooth on and began making calls as he drove home. By the time he pulled up at Katie's to collect Reid, he had made dinner reservations at the most romantic restaurant he could think of and had rented a penthouse suite with a hot tub in the room. This way they could look out over the lights of the city.

As he knocked on the door, Reid answered it, and Luke simply said, "Ready?" Luke looked over Reid's shoulder at Brianna, she smiled and winked and Reid grabbed his bag from the floor by the couch and followed Luke.

Reid stopped once briefly to look back at Bree, who smiled warmly at her brother and said, "Reid, just relax and enjoy yourself."

As they drove to Chicago, Reid was still a bit tense. But Luke held his hand as he drove and assured him that there was no pressure, nothing would happen that he wasn't ready for.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 – Getting to Know You**

When they got to Chicago Luke went straight to the hotel. He told Reid to wait while he took their bags in. Luke checked in and then slipped some money to the concierge requesting that new unused bedding and towels be placed in their room along with their bags. He was given keys and then he returned to the car, they had just enough time to make their dinner reservation.

It was still a bit early for the dinner crowd, so even though Luke was taking Reid to one of the finest restaurants in Chicago, there was no line as of yet. They rode the elevator up more stories than Reid could keep track of as he silently pleaded for the elevator to have no mishaps. It didn't. This all felt pretty new and pretty different to Reid. Reid was a guy that had been around the block more than once, but romantic dinners like this were new to him, even though it is what he'd been dreaming about for months now. All previous relationships were casual at best. He'd been too absorbed in his career and too afraid of relationships to ever put forth the effort before.

As they met the maitre d', they were ushered to a table in the back corner, next to the wall that was glass from ceiling to floor viewing the city. The table was lit with candles and had two bottles chilling next to it. Champagne and sparkling white grape juice. Luke looked at the maitre d' and thanked him and gave him a nod of dismissal and the man turned on his heel and went away. Luke pulled out a chair and stood there waiting for Reid to sit.

Reid came over to sit in the chair and as Luke stood behind him and pushed it in he leaned down to whisper in his ear. "I can't tell if I'm impressing you or not. I hope you're ok with this."

It felt to Reid as though he'd lightly kissed his ear as well, but Reid was so taken aback by all of this that he was in somewhat of a daze. "I'm very impressed actually, but when I imagined dates with you before, I always saw myself as being the one to dazzle you. It's a bit unnerving to have the tables turned. I'm not complaining though," he smiled, "now at least I have an example to follow, much easier than winging it."

As Luke took his seat he looked at Reid smiling. "You've imagined being on dates with me." Luke felt so happy, he wasn't sure how the evening could improve after that statement. But it did. "Reid, you don't have to dazzle me, just you wanting me has dazzled me more than I can ever tell you."

Reid was in fantasy land he was sure, this couldn't all be real. Still he was in unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory with all this intimate conversation and he cleared his throat and looked out the window. "So, is this how you impress all your first dates?"

Luke started to be insulted by the callous question but then realized what Reid was getting at. Reid wanted to know if he'd brought Noah here. Luke reached across the table and touched Reid's chin directing him to look back at him. "Reid, I've only been here before with my grandmother Lucinda, and a couple of times with business associates. I've never been here on a date with Noah or anyone else."

Reid was embarrassed that Luke had seen through his question so expertly. But he felt his heart lighten to know that this wasn't a repeat performance that was once played out for Oakdale's ever popular Noah Meyer. This was something that Luke had planned and prepared for him and him only. Reid began to relax. The look in Luke's eyes was sincere and warm. Reid felt he could melt under his gaze. Luke picked up the bottles in turn and poured drinks for them both.

"Ready for a menu?" Luke asked.

"Ready to eat a whole damn cow actually."

Luke motioned for the waiter who promptly brought menus then disappeared. Reid thought this rather odd behavior but what did he know of this caliber of restaurant? After watching Luke's signals though and the immediate response from restaurant staff, Reid realized that Luke had given instructions not to interrupt them. He'd never before seen such service where when you wanted someone to bring something or clear away dishes they were there in a half a second, yet never bothered you otherwise.

The dinner was superb, the conversation was good. True to his word Luke hadn't pried, but had told stories of himself and had let Reid chime in with his own stories when he felt so inclined. It was nice actually to learn more about Luke, he'd never really wanted to know about another person like this before. But now he realized that he wanted to know everything.

Luke laughed, "You better not write a book with all this information Dr. Oliver."

"No worries on that score, writing is not one of my talents. I'm afraid Brianna got all the creative genes and I got all the logical and scientific ones."

"You know it's been interesting watching you with her and little Reid."

"Interesting how?"

"You're completely different with them, there is no gruff exterior, no wall that you put up."

"Well that would be rather pointless. When someone is in your head, what good would it be to say things contrary to what you feel."

"What's that like anyway? To have someone know what you're feeling?"

"Irritating mostly, but there are definitely times when its good. I don't know what I would have done without her most of my life. I'd probably be in some insane asylum somewhere."

"Why is that?"

Reid didn't answer just looked out the window. They remained quiet for a long time. Then Reid looked back at Luke and asked, "So how old were you when you decided that drinking was a good idea?"

"Oh," now Luke looked uncomfortable, but since he wanted Reid to be able to open up eventually he was going to be the example and turn himself into an open book.

Reid saw the distasteful look on his face and said, "You don't have to answer that."

"No, I want to tell you. I was a teenager. Pretty unhappy with life and with myself. I didn't just drink, I drank myself all the way into kidney failure. I ended up getting a transplant."

Reid's eyes were huge. "That's a lot of alcohol! So that's what made you quit drinking?"

"Well, no, not exactly. I was pretty screwed up back then. I went back to drinking before I was even completely recovered from the surgery actually."

Reid's eyes were still big. "I'll bet you have some medical file."

Luke laughed out loud at that, "I do actually, but that isn't the extent of it. I've been shot and paralyzed and …"

Reid's had an astonished look on his face and Luke told him all about his youthful experiences with Damian and Noah's crazed father, being kidnapped and held for ransom prior to Reid's arrival in Oakdale.

"Well now there's a million reasons why it should be called Oakhell!" He and Luke had a hefty laugh over that. But Reid was still taking in all the information that Luke had shelled out. He'd always kept his own past so concealed. He'd thought that it would shock and horrify other people. But being locked in a tiny closet for hours at a time for a number of years really couldn't compare with Luke's stories.

Luke poured the last dribbles of champagne into Reid's glass."Now you have been keeping my glass full all evening Luke, are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Drunk? No. Relaxed? Yes."

With the dinner gone and dishes long since cleared away they decided it was time to leave. As they approached the car Luke clicked the button on this key ring and unlocked the doors but walked to the passenger side of the car to Reid's astonishment and opened the door for him. Reid was rarely without words but he had been robbed of speech on more than one occasion on this day.

When they arrived back at the hotel, Luke pulled up and let the valet take the car. He and Reid stepped out at the lobby entrance. It was extremely luxurious inside. As Reid looked around Luke took his hand and led him to the elevator. Another long elevator ride. But with Luke holding his hand it wasn't nearly so bad. His mind went back to the little hand that used to hold his when he spent his time in the small confined space and he couldn't help but think of Bree out on a date with the nitwitty Casie Hughes. "So since when are you such good friends with Casie Hughes?"

"For years, since we were kids. He's a good guy you know, Brianna is in good hands I promise."

"Hands? I don't want her in his "hands"! Good grief, forget I mentioned it." Reid's protective instinct was suddenly churning him all up. But then he knew everything must be fine at least so far, he'd know if it weren't.

Luke turned toward Reid, he placed his hands on Reid's face. "Close your eyes, take a deep breath. That's right, relax."

After his deep breath Reid opened his eyes and looked into the dark pools of Luke's eyes. All the champagne had his head swimming a bit and as the elevator doors opened he seemed to be floating out behind Luke toward their room. As Luke opened the door he stepped aside and let Reid enter first. The room was enormous. Bigger than Katie's house. There was a fireplace, The biggest TV he'd seen hanging on the wall, a full size dining table with chairs, and a small glass enclosed area that looked a bit steamy.

His curiosity caused him to walk that direction to reveal a hot tub inside the steamy enclosure. "Well Mr. Snyder, you've really outdone yourself haven't you?"

"I wanted impress you." Luke smiled a shy smile. "Would you like to try the hot tub?"

"Maybe later, right now I'm plenty warm as is." Reid loosened his tie.

"It's the champagne," Luke walked over and opened the window slightly. "Here, let's have your coat and tie." Luke walked behind him and helped him off with his coat, took the offered tie and placed them on the chair. He led Reid to the couch and gently pushed Reid down sitting behind him. Luke began to gently kneed the muscles in Reid's neck and shoulders.

"You really have the whole seduction scene well planned out don't you?" He wanted to sound just a bit sarcastic but it with his eyes closed and being putty in Luke's hands it came out husky and sexy.

Luke called on every bit of self control he had at the moment not pounce on Reid right then. Instead he leaned close and spoke softly next to Reid's ear. "Is it working?"

"Yes, it is. Either you're a master of seduction or I'm an easy mark."

"Or to quote a genius I know, it might have more to do with us being "really hot for each other.""

Luke's hands worked their way lower and were massaging the muscles between Reid's shoulder blades. Reid gave the tiniest little moan over that. "Enjoying yourself Dr. Oliver?" Luke whispered in his ear. Luke was restraining himself as much as he could, but couldn't help touching his lips to Reid's long exposed neck.

The kiss sent tingles through Reid's body. His brain now a complete fog as the effects of the champagne completely settled over him. Luke was feeling a bit concerned now. He'd wanted Reid tipsy and relaxed, he didn't want him completely intoxicated. He decided to put his plans on hold for a bit as Reid seemed to be getting sleepy. "I've a feeling you'll be passing out soon. Come with me. I'd like to actually give you a real massage to fall asleep with. Reid stood up in a haze and let Luke lead him to the bed.

Reid couldn't have protested if he'd wanted to. He stood stalk still as Luke removed his clothing. Luke's voice was deep and soft as he told Reid to lie down as he hung up his suit. Luke quickly hung up Reid's clothing and then removed his own suit and tie and hung them up as well. He went to his bag in the closet and found the small bottle of massage oil that he had brought.

Reid wasn't asleep when he returned, in fact the fog was beginning to lift a bit. But Reid was still incredibly relaxed and laying on his stomach on top of the comforter wearing only his boxers. Black silk boxers Luke noticed. My but the good doctor was sexy. Luke took a deep breath. He didn't want to move things too fast. He wanted this to be relaxed and not rushed. He sat on the bed alongside of Reid and opened the massage oil. Pouring some on Reid's back he began massaging Reid's muscles in earnest.

Reid felt Luke's strong hands massaging his back and it felt like heaven. Reid had never been one to indulge in anything that massaged other than a massaging shower head or the hot tub at the gym. But my god this felt good. He had expected this to be just a foreplay move. But when Luke had only settled in beside him to begin his massage Reid was surprised. This was truly different than anything he'd ever experienced before. Every romantic/sexual encounter Reid had before was based on mutual want and need. But here was this incredibly generous man that was willing to just give, whether or not he got anything in return.

Reid's resolved was truly gone. His head was clearing and yet fogging up like it never had before. His heart was more full than it had ever been before. A need for sleep was beginning to envelope him but there was a long night ahead and he had time. For now he just wanted to hold Luke in his arms. "Luke."

Luke's hands stilled and Reid rolled over onto his back. "Mmm? Sleepy?"

"Yes."

"Let me turn the bed down."

Reid stood briefly and helped Luke to turn down the bedding as best as he could. He clumsily crawled back in and watched as Luke crawled in beside him. "Closer." He said a bit hoarsely. Luke snuggled up to him and Reid pulled him in, Luke laid his head on Reid's shoulder and Reid wrapped his arms around the master of his heart. He closed his eyes and before sleep consumed him he wondered if this was real. Could this be just a perfect dream? Or was this the most satisfied moment in his life?


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 – Elevator Problems**

Reid awoke sometime later with a bit of a headache. Champagne really could be a toxic drink and he'd allowed Luke to ply him with an entire bottle. He tried to remember if he'd brought any aspirin or anything with him but couldn't. He got up from the bed careful not to wake the sleeping Luke and rifled through his bag. Nothing. He wondered if Luke had brought something. He went over and looked through Luke's bag. Still nothing although he did smile a bit as he noticed how well Luke had been prepared for an intimate evening with him.

The pounding in his head was getting louder and Reid really wanted to find something to take away the drums that pounded out the rhythm in his skull. If he went downstairs he was sure that he would be able to locate some. There had to be some kind of shop or even the front desk or something. He pulled out jeans and a t-shirt from his bag and pulled them on quietly. Grabbed some sneakers from his bag and slipped into them without socks. Luke had left the room key on the table by the door, he slipped it into his back pocket and located his wallet on the coffee table by the couch. Then quietly he slipped out and headed downstairs.

If he could just get rid of the damn headache, he was ready to take full advantage of the privacy that he and Luke finally had here. Luke had planned an incredibly romantic overnight getaway and Reid was more than ready to let things take their course. He'd been good beyond good for far too long. He wanted Luke more than he'd ever wanted anyone. Just a glance at the gorgeous blond sex god was enough to make him uncomfortable in public most times. He felt like he was all too often finding something to camouflage the effect. He hadn't been like that since he was a teenager with raging uncontrollable hormones.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strange buzzing and the elevator jerking to a stop. Reid looked up to see what floor they were on and nothing was lit up. _Oh god no! This can't be happening! PLEASE NO!_

Brianna and Casie had a non intense first date. The boy was so easy to talk to. With a baby in tow movies were out and restaurants didn't seem to fit the bill. They'd gotten some take out from Al's and gone to the park. Casie had told her all about an almost marriage and how hurt he'd been. About how he'd stupidly tried a casual relationship and then feared it had resulted in impregnating someone so she could pass the child off as another man's. He talked about how that made him feel, and how he idolized his own father and wanted children someday.

Brianna really liked what she was learning about Casie and he seemed to have an extensive knowledge of Luke. They had been good friends for years and Casie thought the world of Luke. Brianna talked about California, about her art work, about little Reid's father and his disinterest in being a father. Casie likewise was impressed with Brianna. She was a really self assured person, she knew what she wanted out of life. She had no doubts about herself and didn't worry about everything she did. She was kind of a free spirit and it was refreshing to Casie. She idolized her brother which Casie really didn't understand but admired the relationship since his with Adam was so screwed up. It must be nice to have a sibling that you could depend on and talk to.

Brianna was impressed to find out that Casie was taking pre-law courses. He really did look up to his father. Brianna remembered her own father and furrowed her brow for a moment which Casie didn't see. They had spent most of their time with conversation interrupted to coo at the baby. So they decided to go back to Katie's and watch a late movie after she got the baby to bed.

They'd been sitting talking after the end of the movie and it was late, about 12:30 when Casie announced that he should be going. He looked at Brianna to smile his goodbye and thank her for spending the evening with him when suddenly her face turned in to one of horror. Casie couldn't imagine what had happened.

"What is it?"

"It's Reid!" She was quiet but the desperation in her voice was evident. "I need my phone, where is my phone?"

She scanned the room for her purse but Casie remembered seeing it in the diaper bag so he quickly ran to the nursery and quietly fished it out and brought it back. She was still desperately searching around the room when he returned, "Here it is."

She grabbed his hand in gratitude as she flipped it open with the other hand and pressed the speed dial.

Luke awoke to a strange ring going off. _What in the world was that?_ _My phone doesn't sound like that_, he wanted to answer it before it woke Reid. He carefully scrambled off the bed careful not to cause too much movement and found the phone next to Reid's pager on the coffee table where he'd placed Reid's things before they'd moved to the bed. It was Brianna. Why on earth was she calling them on their date. Was something wrong?

"Hello." Luke sounded sleepy.

"Luke? I'm sorry to bother you. Is Reid ok?"

"Yeah he's.." Luke looked over at the bed where he expected to see a sleeping Reid. "He's… not… there." Luke was very confused. "Let me just look around, he's probably in the bathroom."

"No he's not in the bathroom unless he got locked in there somehow. He's stuck somewhere Luke!" She sounded closed to hysterical and Luke felt worried. She was right, Reid wasn't in the bathroom.

"Ok just be calm, let me think." He looked at the coffee table and Reid's wallet was gone, he could see that the bags had been gone through and that the room key he'd left on the table by the door was gone.

"Ok, he's left the room, I'm going to go downstairs and have a look. I'll call you right back ok?" He tried to calm her and remain calm himself but her terrified voice had him a bit shook up too. He fished the other room key from his suit jacket that he'd hung in the closet, found some clothes, he didn't even stop to see what and didn't put shoes on just hurried out the door still clutching Reid's phone.

He ran to the elevators and pushed the button. It dinged and a door opened and down he went. Upon arriving downstairs he looked around and saw no sign of Reid. He went to the desk and talked to the man on duty. "I'm Luke Snyder, in the penthouse suite. I'm with Dr. Oliver who I can't seem to find and he has an emergency call that he needs to return. He forgot his cell phone. Have you seen him?"

"Sir, could you just step this way?"

The man led Luke down a hall behind the desk where lots of offices were. In the back there was an office marked "Security" and the man let Luke pass in front of him. There were two security guards in there, one on the phone and the other monitoring screens. "Joe, this is Mr. Snyder, he showed up at the desk before I could call him. Could you fill him in please?"

Luke felt every stomach muscle contract as the man met his gaze. "Mr. Snyder, there's a problem with one of the elevators," the man continued but Luke stopped hearing at that moment. He recalled the last time that the elevator stopped. _Well so much for the perfect evening,_ Luke thought. _Now Reid will be hopping mad and hyperventilating_. Luke rolled his eyes. Luke tuned back in to the guard still speaking to him. "You can see him on the screen right here." Luke looked expecting to see Reid in a rage, sweating and screaming to be let out but what he saw instead was Reid sitting in the corner near the control panel, his knees clutched to his chest.

"I can't believe he's not screaming."

"Oh he screamed his head off when he called to report that the thing had stopped, but when we told him it would be a couple of hours to get it going he slid down the wall and stopped talking."

Luke furrowed his brow. "Why will it take a few hours?"

"Well he's not in any danger, the electric components have apparently burned up and they have to install new. It's not like anything is going to break or crash, we just need a bit of time to get it moving again. Maintenance is working hard on it as we speak I swear Mr. Snyder."

"Thank you Joe." Luke patted the man's arm. "Is it possible to talk to him?"

"Oh of course, right here", the man pointed to the side of the screens to a phone there. "Let me just…" The man picked up the handset and punched in a couple of numbers. He handed the phone to Luke.

Luke watched Reid on the monitor. Reid didn't look up at all, he just reached up and grabbed the handset off the wall. "Have you got this death trap ready to move yet?" Reid's voice was angry but quiet and Luke could hear his unsteady breathing.

"Reid, it's me, I'm so sorry about this. They're working as fast as they can to get you out of there." Luke's voice was soothing to Reid but it wasn't enough, he needed to be out of there.

"Luke." Reid took a deep breath. "Luke, thank god. Get me out of this thing, please."

"They're working on it now Reid I promise, you'll be out in no time."

"Yeah right, hey, call Bree would ya? She's panicking."

"Yeah she is, she called me, that's how I knew something was up."

"Figures. Wish she was here." It was barely audible and Luke was kind of surprised to hear Reid sound so in need of someone. He was usually so independent. This really added a new facet to the character of the man he loved.

"I'm going to go call her now. In the mean time, think of brain surgery, it worked last time."

"Yeah, ok….. Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Come back, after you call her ok?"

"I will, don't worry."

Luke hung up and hit the button on Reid's phone to return Brianna's call. It seemed like it didn't even ring before he heard her anxious voice on the other end.

"Reid?"

"No, I'm sorry Brianna, it's Luke. Reid is stuck in an elevator right now. It's not dangerous, don't worry. He's going to be fine. He'll be out in a couple of hours." Luke tried to sound soothing and reassuring.

"A COUPLE OF HOURS?" she cried.

Boy, she was as dramatic as her brother, what was it with the elevators and this family? "Brianna, it's not going to plummet to the basement or anything, it's going to be ok really."

"I don't care about the damn elevator!" She cried at Luke, "I care about Reid being ok, WHERE ARE YOU?" Her demanding tone sounded just like Reid with a squawky high pitched voice. Luke seemed kind of surprised. He raddled off the name of the hotel absently, not quite understanding the big deal.

Luke signaled to the guard that he wanted to talk to Reid again. The guard handed him the receiver and punched in the numbers. Luke watched Reid as he hugged his knees closer and reached up to grab the receiver on his end. "Luke? Is that you?"

"Yeah, I called Brianna."

"She doesn't seem much calmer though," Luke was still a bit in awe of the connection that they seemed to share.

"No, I think she's on her way here."

"Yeah I think she is." Luke was surprised that Reid sounded comforted by that, he expected Reid to want her to stop worrying and stay put.

"You ok?" Luke could still hear his ragged breathing and could see him pick up the hem of his shirt and wipe the sweat from his face.

"What the hell kind of a question is that? I'm stuck in a damn elevator." He'd meant to say it more sarcastic but it came out breathy and more like a whisper.

"Yeah I know you really hate elevators."

"It's not elevators really. God I just want the hell out of here."

"I know, Reid. I want to help but I don't know what to do." He could hear Reid's breathing getting more labored. "Reid, tell me about your last surgery."

"Yeah, ok." Reid began to describe his last big success and his breathing evened out as Luke listened.

Luke felt like he wanted to puke listening to this. Gross! He tried to tune out a lot of what he heard but whatever it took to help Reid get through this. He wasn't sure how much time had passed as he listened. Chiming in now and again with "really?" "yeah" "and then" "wow". Luke was tired and had been pushed into a chair some time ago. He'd picked up on Reid's habit and pinched his nose at the bridge between his thumb and middle finger.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and the guard whispered, "There's a girl with a baby at the front desk asking for you." Luke mouthed and "ok" and interrupted Reid. "Reid, I think Brianna is here, let me go check ok. I'll be back." Luke looked at his watch. It was 2am. He'd been on the phone for an hour and a half already. Luke inquired how the repair was going. He wasn't happy to find out that they'd hit a snag and it was taking a bit longer than originally estimated.

Luke didn't like coming out to tell this to Brianna. As he walked to the front desk he saw Brianna. She looked a bit more calm but she had tears streaming down her face. He saw Casie standing a few feet from her holding the baby. "Hey Brianna, you really didn't have to come all the way here in the middle of the night. It's ok, Reid is ok."

Brianna shook her head. "No he's not Luke. He's not good in confined small spaces. You just don't understand." Luke looked at her quizzically. He wasn't about to question her with the tears flowing down her pink cheeks. He did examine her face and was reminded how much she looked like her brother. The look in her eyes was about identical to Reid's when he'd asked him to leave Katie's a few weeks ago. Luke felt bad that her beautiful green eyes were rimmed with red and he couldn't help but hug her. He felt her soft sobs as he held her.

"Come on, you can talk to him back here." He walked her back to the security room and the guard handed her the phone.

"Reid?"

Luke couldn't hear what Reid said as he began to talk to his sister but Luke watched him relax. He let his legs stretch out in front of him and his head fall back against the wall. Luke decided to give them some time to talk and walked back out to see Casie.

"Hey Casie," Luke couldn't help but smirk as he saw Casie with a diaper bag slung over his shoulder and holding a baby. "So did you put jet fuel in the car or what?"

"Damn Luke, she was almost hysterical. It was kind of freaky, I was just about to leave and go home and suddenly her face looked like she just saw someone get killed. She never calmed down till we pulled up outside."

"They sure do stress over elevators." Luke expressed his thoughts to his friend.

"Dude, this isn't about elevators." Luke looked at him with the same quizzical look he'd given to Brianna a short while ago.

"What do you mean Casie?"

"Hey, I served some time dude, remember? I saw a lot of guys freak out like that. It has to do with some kind of emotional or physical abuse. Most of those guys in there are screwed up with some kind of childhood crap."

Light seemed to dawn on Luke, he was suddenly more concerned and anxious than he had been. "Oh my god! That thought had never crossed my mind." Luke got up, "I'm just going to go see if I can hurry this along somehow.

Casie reached out and grabbed his arm. "Luke, it's gonna be ok man, they'll get each other through this, they've probably done it lots before. And we're gonna be here to support them. Its gonna be ok." Luke shook his head affirmatively at Casie and walked away. Luke stopped suddenly and turned.

"Hey Case," Casie looked up at him, "see if you can get hold of your granddad, tell him what's up and see if you can get Reid and yourself out of work tomorrow. It's been a long night already and it aint over yet."

"Yeah man, no problem."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – A Secret Shared

"Hey, I can see you ya know." Brianna said to Reid on the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Look up to your left."

Reid looked up for the first time in hours. He spotted the camera and gave a slight smile and wave. He always found his strength when locked up by trying to assure Bree that all was fine. "See, no worries little mother hen."

She tried to give a little laugh but it was difficult to decipher between laughing and crying right now so her little laugh came out as a slight sob, "I can always leave you know."

"Don't you dare!"

"Like I would."

"Bree, I don't have a watch in here. But it seems like its gone way past the time that I should be out of here. What's going on?"

Brianna knew that something was taking longer than expected because Luke had been on his phone several times with a raised voice. Somehow he'd finally got a clue that they needed to rush things. He was standing behind her now so she covered the mouth piece on the phone and looked at Luke. "He wants to know what's taking so long."

Luke reached for the phone. "Reid, listen, one of the parts they installed didn't work. I've been on the phone and I've woke up half of Chicago. There's a guy with a replacement that's due here in like 2 minutes. Just hang on ok? It won't be much longer."

"Thanks Luke." Reid was breathing better now, Luke was amazed at how much more relaxed he seemed once Brianna had showed up.

"Reid, I'm so sorry about this. This is really not how I wanted our first date to play out."

"Well it is memorable."

"Damn, it's just not the memorable that I was hoping for. I was shooting for perfect."

"Stop worrying, we'll just leave elevators or small spaces out of our future dates huh?"

"You got it. I'm just glad after all this that you're considering future dates." Luke took a deep breath. And whispered huskily, "I love you, you know."

"I know, same here. Hey is Bree still there?"

"Yeah, I'll put her back on."

Luke handed the phone back to Brianna, but before he walked away she asked how her baby was. "He's just fine," Luke assured her. "He's had a bottle of formula, and Casie took him upstairs for a change and a nap. They sent a crib up. So Casie should be able to get some rest too."

"Thanks."

Luke left the room so he could check with maintenance again. The man he was paying a fortune for had just arrived. It shouldn't be long now.

"Hey Mr. Snyder, once we get it going? Upstairs to your room or down here?" The maintenance director was asking Luke.

Luke was thoughtful for a minute. "Better take it up. I'll get up there to wait for him in just a minute." Luke walked to the front desk. I'm going to be going upstairs to wait for the elevator to arrive. Please see that Dr. Oliver's sister is sent up immediately."

"Yes Sir Mr. Snyder."

Luke headed to the working elevator and headed to the top floor. They had given him a key to the adjoining set of rooms. Luke figured that they would all need places to sleep today. It was now just a few minutes past 4 am, and he'd been pacing in front of the elevator door for about 15 minutes. Two maintenance men came bounding down the hall from the stairwell. Luke knew that the doors would now be open any minute. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until the doors opened and he gasped for air.

Reid lunged out of the doors and into Luke. He was shaking and Luke just held him for a minute. "Come on." Luke finally said and with his arm around him led him back to the room. Casie was asleep on the sofa and little Reid slept soundly in the crib. Luke left the door wide open for Brianna and sat Reid down on the edge of the bed kneeling in front of him. "You ok?"

"Yeah, at least I will be. Where's Bree?"

"Should be on her way up. She stayed by the phone till the last minute I think. Can I get you anything?"

"Water."

Luke walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He opened it and kneeled again in front of Reid handing him the water.

"Thanks." Reid took a drink. He looked at Luke again who wore the most concerned look he'd seen since Noah's operation. Reid rubbed his hand over Luke's hair. "I'm ok, really." Luke looked unsure but stood up giving Reid some space.

Brianna ran through the door and looked at her brother. He looked up and locked eyes with her. She came and sat beside him and he wrapped her in his arms. Luke just looked on finally understanding that there was something that they both understood about this experience that he did not. "Thanks for coming." Reid said into her hair.

"Where else would I be?" She tried to smile up at him, but she was so pent up with emotion that it turned into tears. Reid held her close but the silent tears turned into sobs. Reid closed his eyes. He'd always remembered is sessions of confinement with hurt and bitterness. But he'd never really thought about the effect that they had on his sister. She was such an emotional, relational thing. He'd always considered himself as the one that suffered the abuse, now he realized the toll it had taken on her and he felt guilty that he hadn't considered it before. Her now choking sobs were almost more than he could bear and he was unable to stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

Luke felt as if he were intruding by standing there and he turned and looked out the window. After a few minutes he heard the sobs of Reid's sister begin to slow and she took a few deep breaths. Luke decided to investigate the adjoining rooms. He walked over and unlocked and opened the door. He inspected the 2 extra bedrooms and bathroom. This would help. The toll that the lack of sleep and added stress had taken was beginning to overwhelm. He walked back in to the suite and Casie still dozed on the couch, the baby still slept, but Reid and Brianna now sat talking softly on the end of the large bed.

Reid looked up at Luke as though he wanted to speak. Luke approached them still feeling a bit of an intruder. "Luke, you've got more rooms? I think Bree is exhausted."

"Yeah, let's just pull the crib into one of the rooms. I think she'll want the baby near."

He looked at Brianna that was looking at him with such a warm smile. "Thank you Luke." She rose from the bed before he had a chance to move and wrapped her arms around him. She was puzzling to Luke. She was warm and sweet, and so different from Reid. And yet she was also so much like him. Luke felt an odd protective feeling toward her. He walked her over to the crib where she picked up her son. Luke grabbed the diaper bag next to Casie and carried the portable crib behind Brianna into the other room. He pressed a room card into her hand and then walked back into the suite.

Luke kneeled down next to Casie, "Hey Case, wake up huh?"

Casie rubbed his eyes. "Did the baby wake up?" Casie's eyes scanned the room out of focus looking for the crib.

"No, Brianna's with the baby, Reid's here now, come on." He motioned for Casie to follow and he led Casie to one of the bedrooms in the adjoining section. Casie was tall and glad to have a bed to lie on rather than the sofa. He just hadn't felt comfortable laying on Luke and Reid's bed before. Luke pressed a room card in Casie's hand as well and returned to the suite locking the door. He wanted some alone time with Reid now.

He walked up to Reid. "Ok now?"

"Well other than the fact that I've had to use the restroom for hours now, yeah I'm ok." He was standing and walking toward the bathroom.

Luke walked over and closed the door that still stood open. Then he walked to the closet and removed his shoes. He found some lounging pants in his bag and quickly changed from jeans. He was just tying the draw string when Reid emerged from the bathroom. "That's a good idea." Reid walked over and rummaged through his bag as well. He'd only brought one t-shirt which was now rank from sweat. He grabbed the undershirt he'd warn with his suit the day before and a pair of sweats and boxers and disappeared into the bathroom again. Luke could hear the shower running.

Luke was exhausted. It was now 5 am and the sun was full in the sky. He walked over and pulled the vertical blinds, darkening the room. He went to the bed and lay on his back pinching the bridge of his nose again. When he heard the shower stop, he pulled his pillow up on the headboard a bit and sat up slightly.

Reid appeared from the bathroom, his curls wet and sticking to his head. He looked so handsome to Luke, but had a rather timid look on his face. "Come on, lay down, I know you're spent." Luke said to him.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Reid was tired, but his emotions were so wound up he wasn't sure if he could sleep or not. He walked to the bed and laid down next to Luke.

"Did the shower help?"

"Yeah."

"Reid?" Luke rolled on his side to look at Reid. "What were you doing in the elevator after midnight?" Luke rubbed Reid's hair as he spoke.

"I had a headache, I wanted some aspirin or ibuprophen, I had forgotten to bring any. Apparently you didn't bring any either, so I went downstairs to get some."

"How's your head now?"

"I have a head?" They both half laughed at that.

Luke looked serious. "Reid, I know I promised not to press but… Can you tell me?"

Reid looked into Luke's eyes. They were large and dark and deep. They were full of concern and care. Reid closed his eyes and shook his head. Luke was relieved that Reid would be willing to share with such a slight inquiry as that. Reid opened his eyes but didn't look at Luke.

"I told you that I'd known I was gay since I was 9 yrs old." From the corner of his vision Reid saw Luke nod. "I said I'd never hidden it or apologized for it. Well… That's true, but it wasn't my father's favorite attitude from me. He was sure that I couldn't know such a thing at 9. He was certain that someone had put the idea in my head. Whenever the subject came up he would lock me in a closet under the stairs. It smelled musky and it was dark and …" his voice trailed off.

Luke wanted to say something, offer some comfort, but he stayed still and didn't speak. He wanted Reid to continue, but he wanted him to do it at his own pace. He didn't want to stifle this confession nor did he want to rush it. Reid continued, "It went on for about 3 years that way. The only thing he seemed to approve of about me was the fact that I could play chess well. When I finally refused to play one day, he locked me in. He and my mother left and Bree and I were home alone." He took a few breaths. "Bree was always so tiny. Most people thought her a few years younger than me she was so little. Every time I got locked up she'd huddle on the floor and put her tiny hand under the door to hold mine. As we grew, she couldn't fit her whole hand under anymore, just her fingers would slip under the door." Another deep breath. "That last time when the left the house. My god, we were there for so long. Dad had locked me in during the late morning. They got in a fatal accident while they were gone. Our aunt and uncle showed up that night. It was dark then, they looked around for the keys and finally let me out. It was a pretty rough day."

"To say the least," Luke responded.

"I'd always regarded myself as the injured party, but now I see that I wasn't the only one that suffered through all that. I never really realized until today how difficult that was on Bree and how affected she still is by it." Reid took a deep breath.

Luke continued to stroke Reid's hair. "I want to hold you, but after what you've been through for the last several hours, I don't want to crowd you."

Reid moved down on the bed and tugged Luke down until his was laying flat. He moved close to Luke and laid his head on Luke's chest and wrapped and arm around his waist. Luke circled his arms around the strong but shaken Dr. Oliver and kissed the top of his wet, curly head. Luke wanted badly to question Reid about his "same here" answer when Luke had told him he loved him on the elevator phone but now wasn't the time. He knew Reid wasn't going anywhere and they were both so tired.

Reid had thought that he wouldn't be able to sleep but after his confession sleep claimed him pretty fast. Not so with Luke. He laid there pondering the small children that Reid and Brianna once were wand the abuse they had suffered. He pondered the memories that they both relived after this experience. He began to understand Brianna's over developed compassionate nature. He understood Reid's cold, gruff exterior and his need to hold people at arm's distance. He knew that he'd been trusted with the intimate confidence of knowledge of Reid's childhood. He'd always sensed that there was depth in Reid's character, that the gruffness was a kind of defense mechanism. Now all was confirmed. Luke felt a protective feeling toward both Reid and Brianna. But his strongest tendency was for Reid. He looked down at the sleeping love of his life and felt the need to protect him forever. He silently vowed to do just that.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 – The Moment They'd Been Waiting For**

Casey was a bundle of energy rarely needing tons of sleep. Since he'd gotten to sleep long before the others he woke first. He felt ravenous. His granddad had been understanding and he and Reid would have the day off. Casey wondered if Brianna would want to hang with Luke and her brother all day or if he could take advantage of their being in the "windy city" and show her around. He wondered if anyone was awake besides himself. He walked out his door into the hall. He could hear Brianna softly cooing at the baby. He knocked softly. "Come in."

Casey opened the door and found her sitting Indian style on the bed nursing her baby. "Oh hey, I can wait." Casey felt a little awkward.

Brianna giggled and shook her head. "Casey, I wouldn't have said "come in" if it weren't ok."

Casey shrugged and came in and sat on the bed. "How'd he do with the bottle and formula last night? I've had the can of formula for a while but I'd only tried him on it once before and it was not a great success."

"Well then last night was also not a great success, but not a failure either. He didn't want to take the bottle at first, he kinda made me work at that. And uh… he like barfed on me a few times." Brianna looked regretfully at Casey. "Nah its no sweat. They guys at the desk were bending over backward for all of us and gave me a t-shirt with the hotel logo on it. See?" He pointed to the logo on his shirt.

"Casey, thank you so much for helping out and driving me here. I can easily see how you and Luke are such good friends." She smiled.

"Ya know, it felt pretty good, you know helping someone? And it also felt kinda good that you trusted me to take care of your baby. Most people act like I'm such a screw up they don't want to trust me with anything. Took me forever to win my folks back over after my b-i-g mistake."

Brianna grabbed a small blanket pulling it over her shoulder so that she could discreetly lift little Reid. She handed the baby to Casey who instinctively reached for him. Brianna laid her tiny hand on Casey's arm. "I've a feeling that you've punished yourself more than anyone else ever could. You seem completely trustworthy to me."

Casey looked deep into her green eyes and saw complete sincerity. He beamed a smile back at her. "So I wondered if you wanted to hang here with your brother today or if you wanted to go back home, or if you wanted a tour around Chicago? I called my granddad last night and Reid and I both have the day off. Actually I think Reid had two days off cuz granddad said tomorrow was his regular day and he'd probably need it."

"Well, I really would just like to see Reid before I leave but I really think we shouldn't intrude on he and Luke here. They should spend some time together I think. Would you mind showing little Reid and I around? I didn't bring the stroller, so we'd have to carry everything."

"Oh yeah that would break my back." Casey had a comical look on his face and Brianna really examined Casey at that point. He was quite handsome she'd noticed right away, but now she was taking in just how muscular and toned he actually was. He blushed under the scrutiny. "Hey, don't take a full inventory right now!" They both chuckled at that.

Casey felt his phone vibrating and pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text from Luke.

**Ordered Chinese for lunch. Here in 10 mins. Tell Brianna. -L**

Reid's eyes began to flutter open as he heard the knock on the door. Through his lashes he could vaguely see Luke walk by. He heard talking and packages rustling. God something smelled fabulous. He kind of half sat up and groggily looked at a guy from the hotel helping Luke load the table with plates and platters. Reid could hardly focus and he fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. He heard Luke quietly thanking the man and the door closing. He could hear Luke busy with something and peaked up through one eye. Luke was emptying the contents of more Chinese containers than he'd seen in one place in his life onto platters.

The sight of all the food was enough to bring Reid fully upright. "Food! And here I thought I was the genius." He smiled appreciatively.

Luke smiled back. "I knew you'd be hungry and I didn't think you'd be anxious to take the elevator again until we were checking out."

"Smart thinking, but why aren't we checking out? I have a shift that I'm probably already late for."

"Actually you don't. Casey talked to Bob and he gave you both the day off. And I happen to know that tomorrow is your regular day off. So, I'm holding you hostage here for a while."

"Kidnapping me is a favorite hobby of yours. So, aren't you the clever one now, I must be rubbing off on you."

Luke couldn't believe where his mind just went. Sheesh, he was so pent up with sexual tension.

Apparently Luke let his thoughts be mirrored in his face because Reid laughed out loud at him. "And just where is your mind at Mr. Snyder?"

They both were grinning when there was a knock at the door and Luke hollered, "Come in." He'd unlocked the adjoining door earlier when he'd ordered lunch.

Casey and Brianna sauntered in, both inhaling the wonderful aroma of the feast Luke had laid out on the table.

"This looks great." Brianna examined all the wonderful dishes that Luke had laid out on the platters.

"Yeah Man, you went all out." Casey walked up to the table carrying the sleeping babe. "So what's with the goofy grin Luke?"

"Oh, I was just complimenting Luke on his intelligence and saying how I must be rub-bing off on him." The accent on the word "rubbing" not being lost on Luke and he blushed.

Casey, not being the idiot that Reid had assumed, picked up on the innuendo as well. "Well geeze guys, that's just lame. Can we like eat now?" Casey had his head down and was shaking his head. He looked up at Luke who looked at Reid who had a look of "what did I do?" and they all laughed.

"Here Dr. Comedian, why don't you hold your namesake a while?" Casey handed little Reid to his uncle.

Reid gratefully took his nephew and with more grace than any of them expected held the sleeping baby comfortably to his chest while he was able to serve and eat a tremendous amount of food without incident.

The conversation was light and easy and Reid decided he actually liked Casey more than he thought that he would. He didn't have a great vocabulary, lots of "man, dude, geeze" interspersed with his conversation but Reid was surprised to find that he was taking pre-law classes and was planning to follow in his father's footsteps to be an attorney. Casey and Brianna announced that they were going to spend some time exploring the city before heading back to Oakdale and so after lunch they all said their goodbyes.

"Casey, I want to thank you for bringing my sister here last night. I really appreciate it." Reid offered his hand to Casey.

"Yeah, no problem man. Glad it all turned out ok." Casey gave Reid a sincere look and shook his hand firmly. Reid was a bit surprised at the sensitivity of the young guy.

Reid kind of hated to give up his nephew that was now awake and looking at him with big eyes. But he knew that they had things to do and he was kind of anxious to be alone with Luke as well. He hugged his sister. "Bree, thank you so much for coming to be with me. You're always around when I need you."

"And I always will be." She smiled up at him as she plucked her son from his arm. "I'll see you when you get back." She turned toward Casey who waited at the door with the diaper bag slung over his shoulder and they left.

"Well remind me that when you and Casey sit down to a meal together to make sure there is enough food prepared. There's nothing left of that spread." Luke laughed and shook his head.

"Forget about the food," Reid said walking up to Luke. "Tell me about where you're mind went with the 'rubbing' conversation before."

"What makes you think it when anywhere?" Luke continued looking at the dishes on the table.

Reid laughed, "Well let's see, there was the whole look of mortification and then guilt, and then the cute little pink cheek thing that you do." Reid was still laughing but in an affectionate way. "I've never seen a guy blush like you do."

"Knock it off Reid." And right on cue Luke's cheeks turned 3 shades of pink.

"And there it is." Reid was smiling, "God I love when you do that." Reid pulled Luke closed, both arms between Luke's arms and body and hands on his shoulder blades pressing him flush against his chest. Reid kissed him hungrily.

"Mmm," was all Luke could respond with as he matched the hunger in Reid's kiss. As Reid's tongue entered his mouth he rubbed it with his own. Reid captured Luke's tongue and sucked it gently.

Reid finally broke the kiss and they were both breathless. "So what were you thinking about before? Huh?"

"Want a demonstration?" Luke asked. His voice was low and husky and sounded so damn sexy to Reid.

Reid kissed the side of Luke's neck tasting his way down to Luke's collar bone as his hands found their way under his t-shirt. He had one hand on Luke's bare back that felt so smooth and muscular while the other hand worked its way up to his chest feeling Luke's ragged breathing. He remembered how Luke's chest had looked when they were in Texas and Luke had answered the door in his towel. Reid had fantasized about this moment many times since and was anxious to look at him again. Reid pulled his head back and looked at Luke's who's eyes were closed. God but he looked good. Luke opened his eyes to look at Reid who was staring at him. Reid pulled Luke's shirt up over his head and drank in the site of Luke. Luke's eyes were pools of chocolate. Reid began to pull Luke back close but Luke stopped him.

"No," Luke said as he lifted Reid's t-shirt up as well, "skin on skin." This time when they came together and their mouths met, their chests were pressed together and it added even more intense heat. For Reid it seemed surreal. He'd dreamed about this how many times? And now here they were. Was it real? Was Luke actually in his arms? Were they actually about to make love after all these months? The feel of Luke's chest speckled with hair rubbing against his own smooth skin felt incredible.

Luke was lost in sensation as he touched Reid. He was muscled and toned and touching the contours of his body was amazing. He was an amazing kisser which Luke had already known, but right now everywhere he touched with his mouth and tongue seemed to singe Luke's flesh. Luke was so alive with sensation and he could feel Reid hard against him. Their thin boxers and lounge pants did little to conceal and their considerable bulges which were grinding against each other. Luke wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. What a push over he would look like if he came right there before anything really happened.

Reid was absolutely on fire, this needed to move along though or it would be over before it started. He was a bit in shock when Luke took a step back from him. Reid looked at Luke questioningly and Luke replied, "We've – got – to – slow – down." As Luke caught his breath he continued, "I've been anticipating this way too long and now I feel like I can't hold on." Luke looked a bit embarrassed. Reid gave a slight laugh. "You're laughing at me?" Luke looked hurt.

"God no," Reid said touching Luke's cheek. "I laughed because I'd just had the same thought. But here, I have an idea." He took Luke's hand and led him to the bathroom. Luke was silent as Reid turned on the shower. "We can go as fast as we want right here, and then take the rest of the afternoon to be slow, torturous, and mind boggling."

Luke grinned at that. He stood still and just stared into Reid's eyes as Reid freed them both of their lounge pants and boxers. They stepped into the shower and the air was heavy from steam. With their skin wet their hands traveled over each other a bit faster and the heat that they'd felt moments ago was far surpassed as they kissed, nipped, and touched. Neither felt the pressure to try and slow things down and instead of disappointment at their fast releases they felt relief and anticipation for what was to come. They held each other as they stood under the spray of water that felt like needles to their sensitized bodies.

"Reid?" Luke panted out his name.

"Yeah?"

"This morning, early.." Luke was still gasping a bit, "When you were still in the elevator. We were on the phone and I said 'I love you' and you said 'same here' did that mean what I think it did?"

Reid smiled and took Luke's face in his hands. When Luke's eyes met his he began. "Luke, I don't even remember what it was like not to love you. I'm just glad that it's reciprocated now, and not the awful feeling that it's been for so long. Everything about you drives me crazy and excites me at the same time. And if this is real, if you're really here, if I'm not in some kind of dream-fantasy, then I am never going to let you go."

They kissed again and then Reid reached to turn off the water. They dried each other, and went back in the room and fell on the bed. They found each other and held close to each other for a short time. Then just as promised before they made love all afternoon. Reid was a bit in awe of how tentative that Luke was, and Luke reveled in how experienced Reid was. He touched in all the right places. Luke was a quick study though and made sure to give back to Reid every bit of pleasure that he received from him. This was good, it was the kind of love making that Luke had always dreamed of and had never known. For Reid, it was truly love making for the first time. There was nothing rushed, distant, or detached about it. It was intimate and spiritual and touched him to the very core. How would either of them ever get enough of the other? And what would come next?


	18. Chapter 18

**Hope this isn't too much of a snooze for all of you. No major happenings just some cutsie stuff as I transitioned them back to Oakdale and closer to their new home. Just wondering, should I keep the Bree/Casy thing going on the side?**

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Just Cuteness**

This time it was Luke's turn to wake up alone in the bed with Reid rummaging around the room. He was making coffee and readying his cup with sugar.

"Hey." Luke said in a husky, groggy voice.

"Hey," Reid said smiling widely. "I thought you'd never wake up. Aren't you hungry?" Reid walked over to the bed and sat next to the sleepy love of his life and musses his blonde locks.

"I'll show you what I'm hungry for." Luke sat up and wrapped his arm around Reid.

"Hey now, I've gotta have some sustenance. Contrary to the rumors, you can't life off love." Reid was barely able to finish the sentence before being engaged in a very seductive kiss. Luke was still naked beneath the bedding. He sat up and pulled Reid's hand down to feel his full blown hard on beneath he covers.

"You sure about that?" Luke asked breaking away from the kiss. Reid let out a low growl and pulled Luke into his arms. They kissed passionately and Reid was about to climb over him onto the bed but just then there was a knock at the door. "Ugh" Luke groaned.

"That'd be room service," Reid looked anxiously at the door. "FOOD!"

Luke pulled the covers over his head as Reid answered the door. Luke had to admit to himself that the food smelled good. But he hadn't eaten since eight o'clock the night before whereas Reid had ordered food again at midnight. After the Reid had tipped the guy and called "Come on, breakfast." Luke had gotten up and pulled on his lounging pants. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the table. Two Denver omelets, two orders of French toast, two waffles, and big plates of both sausage and bacon.

"Are you nuts? We can't eat all that!"

Reid looked up at Luke as though he'd his mind. He had a blank look on his face and just blinked. "Yes we can, you eat what you want, and I'll eat the rest."

Luke couldn't help but laugh at Reid's matter of fact statement. "I'll never understand your infatuation with food. You're always hungry, you eat copious amounts of food and there isn't a spare ounce of flesh on you anywhere."

By this time Reid already had a huge bite of omelet in his mouth. He spoke with his cheeks bulged out like a chipmunk. "I have a fast metabolism." He failed to mention to Luke that he also ran a couple of miles every other day and had a vigorous routine at the gym which accounted for his chiseled physique. A routine that he'd be back to by tonight or tomorrow. As of yet, he'd still not braved the elevator again. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"We can do anything you want today. But before we leave Chicago I want to go by the Linen Emporium and pick up some things. Would you mind?"

"A linen store? Geeze are you kidding me? What do you want to do that for?"

Luke tried to think of an excuse that wouldn't give it all away. "Well, I err, bought a new bed. I need bedding for it and would rather get it from a store here rather than the little stores in Oakdale."

"A new bed?" Reid didn't look to very unpleased at the idea. "Sure, I can handle that, as long as you're not one of those shoppers that take hours to pick out something."

Reid had a devious grin on his face. "What?" Luke questioned.

"Just imagining christening you're new bed. So what gives? Why the new bed?"

"I just thought it was time." Is all that Luke said.

After breakfast Luke looked around and no big surprise, Reid had stayed true to his word, there was no food left. Luke was thinking how glad he was that he had bought the huge refrigerator with the TV in it. With the way Reid was eating, he was going to have to keep the kitchen well stocked.

Reid went over and stretched out on the couch. He had his hands behind his head. He was looking at Luke who was staring at him with a dreamy look on his face. "What?" Reid asked.

"Nothing." Was all Luke said and smiled.

"What are you thinking Mr. Snyder?"

"Too many things."

"So spill it, I want to know."

"I was thinking how I love being here with you. After the past few weeks, my actions after Noah saw us that day. I never thought I'd get a chance to be with you like this. I feel so fortunate."

"You are fortunate." Reid grinned wickedly. "And?"

"And I was thinking that I loved that our overnight getaway stretched out into two and a half days. Even though I'm extremely sorry for what brought that about."

"As you should be." Luke knew that Reid was teasing him so he put on a mock pouty face. "And?"

"And that I hate to leave here, I've loved having you close at hand, getting to know you better and being able to touch you whenever I want."

"I've rather enjoyed that as well." he smiled. "And?"

"And I was just imagining how good you'd taste right now. With the flavor of coffee, maple syrup on your tongue." Luke let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

"God, how do you do that? How do you make even eating breakfast into such a seductive thought? I haven't had this much sex in the last year, not that I'm complaining."

Luke laughed, "You better not be complaining!"

"Come here." Reid growled, sitting up a bit.

"Don't you want to wait for your food to settle?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't make out for a while. Better hurry if you want to be able to taste the coffee and maple syrup." Reid was smiling and like Luke he really was happy. A few weeks ago he didn't think he could be this happy. But he'd taken the chance and it was completely worth it. He still wasn't good at pouring out his feelings, but he could put the happiness that he felt into the kiss that was descending on his lips even now.

When Luke finally pulled away he had such a satisfied look on his face. His eyes were big and dark. Reid couldn't help but reach out and touch his hair and then his cheek. Reid snaked his arms around Luke and pulled him against his.

Luke smiled to himself. Who'd of thought that the cold, rude Dr. Oliver was such a huggy/snuggly person. No one would believe it if he told them. After resting there a while they showered and spent a few hours in bed. Reid was determined to take full advantage of their alone time before returning to Oakdale. Only Luke knew that there was plenty of time to spend together once they were home. They'd showered again and dressed in, jeans and hotel t-shirts, since they hadn't quite brought enough clothes and Luke hadn't thought to have things laundered, he'd been distracted to say the least. Luke loved how Reid looked in his snug fitting jeans and he'd purposely bought the t-shirt for Reid a bit small so it fit tight. It made him look younger as it clung to his superbly chiseled chest and abs. Luke couldn't help staring at Reid yet again.

Reid smirked. "It's rude to stare, even at a genius."

Luke shook his head. "Damn you're beautiful. In spite of yourself. That red hair and green eyes, and the way your cute little ass looks in those tight jeans."

"My hair isn't red, its …light auburn. And I'm not beautiful, I'm devastatingly handsome. I let Bree be the beautiful one."

"She is that you know."

"I know." Reid had a sweet affectionate look on his face that made Luke's heart jump in his chest.

"I have to tell you, Casey seems pretty into her. I really have worried about him since the Ali/wedding fiasco. I just haven't really had a chance to check up on him. I was so caught up with your suspension, then Noah's surgery, then trying to figure out how to win you back. But he seemed really good yesterday. I'm relieved."

"She has this way of shifting things into a better perspective. Before she came, I was pretty ready to crawl into my shell and never come out. I don't think I would have ever spoken to you again if not for her."

"I owe her a lot then." Luke looked suddenly very serious.

Reid reached out and laid his hand against the side of Luke's neck. "We owe her a lot."

Luke had been a bit worried about the elevator ride down. They had talked about taking the stairs. But they didn't think about it too long, even going down, they were up 40 floors up. As they entered the elevator, Reid looked a bit apprehensive. Reid grabbed at the neck of his t-shirt. "Why the hell is this thing so tight? Can't you read sizes?"

Luke laughed out loud, he couldn't help it. "Yeah, but I bought it small on purpose."

Reid looked at him incredulously. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you look so hot that way. I love looking at you."

Reid tilted his head to the side, "Are you nuts?"

"About you, yes."

Reid shook his head and lowered it laughing, then he looked up at Luke through his lashes. "Are we really gonna do these mushy moments? It's really not me you know."

"Yeah sometimes, and I know it's not you, but it is me so you'll just have to deal."

And by the time they finished their banter the doors were open and they were safely on the main floor. They were both equally relieved by that.

Reid seemed pretty disinterested by the time they reached Linen Emporium. But couldn't help but offer up his opinion each time Luke looked as some ghastly comforter. Reid expressed his approval when they spotted one with big squares of silver, charcoal, beige, and chocolate and it was trimmed in black. It was very masculine and had kind of an earthy/stormy feel. "What size?" Reid asked.

"King," was the simple reply.

That qualified for a real smirk from Reid. "King? In that little room in your mother's house?"

"Oh would you just can it? As far as I can tell you sleep on a couch!" Luke continued on looking at sheets and checking for thread count.

"Touché." But Reid was growing in curiosity as Luke seemed to be completely stocking up here. Good knight, 4 sets of sheets and now he's on to towels? "What the heck are you buying all this for? Your mother doesn't have towels?"

"I want my own ok?" Reid was beyond trying to figure the boy out. He just sauntered along giving his opinion about color and not trying to figure out the complex young guy that smiled like an angel, made love like the devil, and made him feel things like affection and protectiveness to an extent that he hadn't thought possible outside of his relationship with Brianna.

Once all the tedious shopping was done they stopped for pizza since Reid was again starving and then headed home. Reid was feeling the need to go to the gym which he didn't share, and Luke was needing to see the realtor to get the keys to his new home, which of course he didn't share either. He dropped Reid off at Katie's and walked him and his things to the door. They kissed for several minutes before finally breaking apart and Luke sped away. He was after all a man on a mission. He stopped by and picked up the keys to his new home, a few phone calls proved that the furniture and appliances would be delivered tomorrow, and he pulled up in the drive to check things out and drop off the day's purchases.

Everything had proceeded as should. The cement in the back by the pool area was still a bit dark and needed curing but it was fine to walk on and the pool was filled and looked inviting. Luke had a satisfied grin. Things were looking far better than he'd ever anticipated.

Reid had gone into his home to find Katie babysitting little Reid while Brianna was out painting somewhere. The park probably. He'd have to talk to Luke about showing her the Snyder Pond. He knew that she'd completely love to wrap her artistic mind around that scene. He was actually grateful for the opportunity to run off to the gym. There he engaged in a vigorous workout where he had time to think over the last 48+ hours. How had he gotten from a first date to the idea that he couldn't stand to be without Luke for a day? This was outrageous. But then again hadn't everything about them been outrageous? He was now in love with the sweet, generous, loyal, and loving golden haired boy that had once blackmailed him into this godforsaken town. Why was he trying to analyze it anyway? Just accept if for what it is you moron, magic and wonderful. Just leave it at that. He finished the last of his workout in peace and resolved to just go with the flow from this point forward.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 – Back to Oakdale!**

When Casey had brought Brianna and little Reid home he was a little surprised to see vases of flowers all over his aunt's apartment. He didn't expect her to mourn Brad forever but he hadn't realized that she was romantically interested in someone yet. He did however remember her staying at his house overnight a couple of weeks before and she'd seemed a bit troubled. That was girl stuff though and he hadn't been interested.

He'd had a really great day with Brianna and her baby. It was nice to hold the little guy and he'd noticed several men look at Brianna appreciatively as they'd walked around Chicago. She was tiny yet had all the right curves, and due to her breast feeding her breasts were round and full. Her hair was long almost all the way down her back, strawberry blonde with curls and waves cascading down its length. Her eyes were emerald green and she had perfect apricot skin without a blemish. She was always smiling and made everyone around her want to smile too. She was very sure of herself, no self doubts or over thinking her decisions. She was open and playful and just inspired happiness. What a contrast he'd thought to her brother and his constant sarcasm. She was also honest to a fault and extremely compassionate and caring. She wasn't just beautiful; she was a person that inspired happiness. Casey felt as though a diamond had dropped from the sky right in front of him.

He remembered the way she'd looked at him while they were still at the hotel with Luke and Reid. She'd really kinda checked him out and it surprised him. They'd had a good time together on their date prior to that but it had all been just pretty friendly. Things had shifted a bit though after the elevator fiasco. As they'd walked around Chicago she'd been much more affectionate and he'd noticed her looking him over a couple of times. So when it was time to say goodbye at Katie's he'd felt comfortable about kissing her goodnight. But he hadn't been prepared for was the way it had escalated. He'd given her a rather chaste kiss at first, but as he pulled away from that kiss and looked in to her deep green eyes. They desire he'd seen there caused him to bend down and kiss her again. This time tasting her warm sweet lips, he pulled her into his arms and lifted her almost a foot off the ground as he held her voluptuous little body. Casey had rushed relationships before and didn't want to get too ahead of himself here. Brianna wasn't like Vienna, she wasn't someone to have just a fling with. He reluctantly set her back on her feet and muttered "Wow." Then turned on his heels and left.

Brianna really liked Casey, he'd shared a lot of his history with her. He'd had some problems, but he seemed to really have things together now. His future was moving slow but steady and he had some definite goals. She wasn't too concerned about the age difference, he wasn't much younger than little Reid's father was. At first she'd accepted a date with him because she knew so few people in Oakdale, and wanted to make friends. But after their date and listening to him talk she'd realized how very much she liked him. She smiled to herself as she remembered noticing how filled out and muscular he was. She'd returned to that thought several times during the day when she'd watched him effortlessly carry around her son and all his things. Even with her admiration of his handsome smile and shining blue eyes, she hadn't been prepared for the kiss he gave her. Tentative at first and then he'd pulled her close. Brianna hadn't been with a man in nearly a year. Since her baby was conceived actually. She'd almost forgotten how exciting it was to be kissed by a man. She was almost alarmed at how her body responded to him and was relieved that he'd put her feet back on the ground and left. Her head had spun, but she'd recovered and got her baby and herself to bed.

They hadn't seen each other the next day. Casey had returned to work and Brianna was busy looking at her sketches, making more sketches and eventually she'd gone out to do a bit of painting while Katie watched both babies. She usually painted landscapes while occasionally dabbling in portraits. But today she felt a new peace. She'd carried a certain pain in her heart for a long time, the feeling of trying to comfort Reid as a child and just barely or not quite being able to reach him. She could remember trying to fit her tiny hand under the door and her anxiety when it wouldn't fit anymore. But after this last experience, she'd cried out her woes and felt a certain amount of release. She felt something in Reid too that said that he was able to rely on Luke now. He hadn't verbalized it but she could tell that something had shifted and Luke was now a part of his soul.

Brianna felt lighter than she had in a long, long time. She painted children, happy and running. She painted lovers walking through the park holding hands. She painted a young girl smelling a flower, lost in the moment, and finally she painted the sunset and felt good about the work she had done. She felt good about the place she was at. She felt happy and carefree.

Luke woke the next morning clutching the pillow next to him. As he rubbed his cheek against it he came to the realization that it wasn't Reid and that he was lonely. He looked up at his framed piece of art and longed to have Reid there in person. _I've got the next few days cut out for me_, he thought. He wanted to be able to make his wish a reality. He could make the house ready for Reid, but whether he would be receptive to moving in would remain to be seen. But the last few days he had spent with him caused him to be hopeful. But there was so much to do, and he'd already been away from the foundation for days.

Reid woke early hugging one of Katie's couch cushions as usual. His back was a little sore from the sofa. He wasn't sure how much longer he could continue sleeping on the sofa but he was loath for his sister and nephew to leave. Only after spending a few weeks with them did he realize how very much he wanted them close by. He'd been able to shut out most things in the past few years and focus almost solely on work, but now those days seemed to be gone. He really wanted to see Luke, it was lonely waking up without him. He picked up his blackberry and sent a message.

**Breakfast? –R**

**In a hurry, Coffee? –L**

**Half hour, Java –R**

**See you then –L**

When Reid arrived Luke was already sitting with two lattes in front of him. "Got your usual," he said.

Reid smiled, leaned down and kissed Luke and then took his seat opposite him. "Thank you."

"Busy day ahead?"

"Not too bad," was Reid's reply in between sips of coffee. "No surgeries today unless there is an emergency. I have a few consults, rounds, and for the remainder of my shift I'll analyze scans and research some procedures. How bout you?"

"Swamped, I've been neglecting things and have a ton of things to do."

"Guess dinner's out then?" Reid asked curling his lip.

"Afraid so, sorry."

"That's ok; I need to spend some time with Bree anyway. Maybe help her by sitting around with the baby. She seems to be on a mission right now. Getting her work together and doing some new things. I think she's dying to have some of her pieces from California."

"I'll talk to her today and see if there is any way that I can help."

Reid scoffed, "How can you help? You're too busy for dinner!"

Luke looked a bit guilty which instantly worried Reid. Luke knew he should say something but didn't want to spoil his surprise.

"Never mind, I need to get to the hospital." He said as he stood.

"Reid don't leave mad." Luke grabbed his hand.

"I wish I understood you better, Luke." He turned and left without another word or even a kiss goodbye.

Luke felt bad, but after all they'd shared in the last few days he was still feeling confident about them. He failed to realize that the relationship challenged Reid would let the little spat get to him.

Before Luke went to the house to meet the delivery trucks he made one stop. He knew it was probably too early for this but he just wanted it so bad that he stopped to make an incredibly important purchase. And when the time was right, he'd be prepared. Once that was done he called Brianna, she was stressing about getting her work together for an upcoming show but she wanted so much to help ready what she hoped would be her brother's new home. He'd seemed so happy for the few minutes she'd seen him the night before. She just knew this would be the next logical step for him. She helped Luke prepare the house. She cleaned and vacuumed but and once the appliances were in place she laundered all the towels and linens.

Luke was busy trying to arrange furniture but was having a difficult time. He needed some help so he sent a text to Casey. Casey wasn't taking summer classes, he'd start back in the fall, so he only had to work around his work schedule. He'd be off in an hour and a half, that would work. Luke felt his stomach growl. He needed to grocery shop but then realized he hadn't bought any dishes. _OMG!_ he thought_, how could I have forgotten that?_ Ok think, He called his grandma Emma and told her what he was doing and that he needed a bit of help. Then he grabbed Brianna and the baby and headed out to shop for dishes and food.

By the time he returned, he had dishes and several small kitchen appliances and more food that he had imagined buying. Brianna had helped. Especially with the sandwich ingredients. Luke was sure he'd have never gotten that right without her. It was funny how the sales people looked at them. Everyone gave them "knowing" looks, thinking that they were setting up house with their new baby. Brianna not shy at all had taken no time to set them straight and Luke could do nothing but smile and blush at the looks on their faces. Some completely unaffected while others just raised an eyebrow.

They returned to the house in time for Casey and Grandma Emma to arrive. Grandma Emma had a big basket of food for them and she took over in the kitchen insisting on washing all the dishes by hand (since that is what she was used to) and completely ignoring the dishwasher. Casey ate enough to satisfy even Grandma Emma before setting about his task of hooking up electronics. Brianna nursed her baby but realizing that Casey was distracted to no end watching her from the corner of his eye decided to go into the kitchen to make the acquaintance of Luke's grandmother.

"I can't thank you enough for bringing us food Mrs. Snyder."

"Oh please, call me Emma." She said cupping the girl's cheek.

Brianna liked her instantly. "Well thank you Emma. And thank you for coming to help."

"What else would I do, my grandson needed help. I worry though, this seems so hasty. I didn't even know he was interested in anyone besides Noah. It worries me."

"I can definitely understand that Mrs… er Emma. I really like Luke a lot. I know I've only known him a couple of weeks, but it only took a couple of days to understand why my brother believed him to be so special. He's a keeper."

Emma looked serious for a moment. "He hasn't had an easy life you know. And he's so generous and caring; I just want him to be happy. I don't want him to suffer anymore heartbreak."

"Well we all know that life doesn't come with any guarantees." Brianna looked thoughtful. "Reid hasn't had the easiest life either, he has a thick shell and he makes it hard to penetrate that. But it's not impossible. And I know he'd walk through fire for me or my son, and I'm pretty sure he'd walk through fire for Luke as well."

Emma reached out and touched Brianna's cheek again and then rested her hand on Brianna's shoulder. "Thank you sweetheart, thank you for trying to ease a grandma's worries."

Brianna thought that Emma reminded her of Aunt Judy. She'd been loving and protective as well. She and Reid had been so fortunate to have her and Uncle Oliver, but their time with them had been extremely short. It would have been so healing for them to have had them around a bit longer, but life was what it was. She couldn't help but think though how lucky Luke was to have a big family.

After their conversation Brianna had laid her son down to sleep and set about the task of finishing the laundry and making the bed. Luke had yet to buy bedding for beds in the other rooms. But she was able to stack the extra sheets and all of the towels in the linen closet. She returned to the living room where both Luke and Casey were resting on the couch watching the baby sleep. Emma was packing to leave and Brianna all but collapsed on the couch too.

_Wow, _Luke thought,_ that would have taken me days. But I'm about done!_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 – The House is Ready**

Luke got up and made an inspection around the house. He still needed paintings and picture frames for the walls, bedding for the other bedrooms, and several more odds and ends. But it was good enough to bring Reid here. Just one thing he was missing. He left Brianna and Casey resting on the couch while he went to his car for his prize possession, the sketch that he'd had framed. He grabbed his new little purchase from the car as well with the little note he had written out. He was used to waking up to his framed picture of Reid with little Reid and loved it in his room. He carried it in and hung it in the bedroom. He hung it where he could see it first thing every morning. He'd be happiest to have Reid here in person, but as hopeful as he was, he didn't want to take anything for granted. He went to his night stand and pushed his small purchase and note to the back. There now it would be there and ready when the time was right.

Brianna invited Casey back to Katie's for the evening. She wanted so much to see her brother's face when Luke brought him here, but it would be a private moment and she had to respect those boundaries. She would get to visit later she was sure of that. She packed up her things and the baby's things and looked over to see Casey making faces at little Reid. For a boy lacking a father he was sure getting a lot of male attention. Between Reid, Luke, and now Casey she hardly got to hold her boy at all unless he was hungry. She grinned a bit, at least she could angle them all out in that department. She was happy with the way that she and her son were welcomed here. And Luke was being so helpful. He'd said he had something in mind for getting her paintings here and to give him a day or two.

Now Casey and Brianna were on their way back to Katie's and Luke tried to drum up his nerve. He'd told Reid this morning that he'd be busy tonight, now he needed to backpedal. Well, he'd just go see him. He looked at his watch. Ugh, Reid's shift had been over a couple of hours now. Brianna and baby Reid had been here with him until a few minutes ago. He might not be in the best of moods. Luke thought for a moment about postponing this but his excitement was too much and he was unwilling to let the evening pass without the love of his life.

* * *

Reid was in fact not in the best of moods. He'd gone most of the day on the meager cinnamon bun he'd picked up at Java to go with his coffee. Not his usual ample breakfast. Then an emergency case had come in during the afternoon and he'd foregone lunch. He'd brewed about Luke all day. Too busy for breakfast, too busy for dinner but plenty of time to talk to Bree and try to help her with her problems? What was going on here? Had the last few days meant nothing? They had meant everything to Reid and he'd been sure that they meant something to Luke. But perhaps he'd been reading into it. So lost in his own feelings of happiness that he took it to mean more than it actually did. Or, maybe he'd scared Luke off again. The last time he'd gotten scared he'd gone to Noah begging for him to take him back. That was something he didn't think he could go through again.

God, if Luke went running back to Noah again that was it. _I'll get the hell out of this godforsaken town as fast as possible_, Reid thought.

He'd come home starving and ready to take his sister out to dinner. She was the one person he might discuss all this with. But when he'd arrived home she and the baby were nowhere to be found. Unable to put off his growling stomach any longer he'd gone in to make a sandwich. He'd put it on a plate and retuned all the ingredients to the fridge, but was unable to bite, he just sat there staring at it.

Katie walked in with Jacob in his stroller. She noticed the enormous sandwich in front of Reid and Reid not eating it. She knew that couldn't be good.

She walked over and sat next to him at the table. "Ok, what gives? I thought you'd be walking on cloud 9 by now."

"I thought so too." Was the solemn reply. "What the hell is with all the flowers around here? It smells like a stinking Glade factory!"

Katie looked down. "They're from Chris. I don't know where he got this bright idea from, but each delivery comes with a note."

"A note? What you mean like some Hallmark crap?" Reid rolled his eyes. "God, this is probably all my fault."

"What? How can it be your fault?" Katie's eyes were wide.

"Oh he came to my office a few days ago asking for advise on 'wooing you'." Reid was finally able to take a bit of his sandwich. He had to since he wasn't about to give in to laughing at Chris's antics that day.

"And you told him to send flowers and write love letters?"

"HELL NO!... I referred him to someone else for advice."

"Let me guess. Brianna?"

Reid nodded. "So how's it working?"

Katie put her face in her hands and started to cry.

"Shit! That good huh?" She naturally had leaned toward Reid and he awkwardly pulled her into a hug as he had in the past. "Just tell him to knock the shit off, you don't want his damn love letters. Or better yet," he gave an evil grin, "let me tell him."

"Reid you're such a dork." Katie lightly hit him in the chest with the back of her hand as she pulled away. "I do want them. With each letter I fall in love with him a bit more." She got up from the table and went to the cabinet in the living room. She returned with a stack of dusty blue papers. "They aren't letters really, just little notes. But listen to this one:

**Katie,**

**From what I remember, Brad loved you more than life itself. I'd never let his memory fade from you or Jacob's lives. He is part of what makes you who you are. And I love who you are. Please let me love you, even that part of you that is touched by Brad. Loving him taught you to give all of yourself. The only way to diminish what you shared is by not continuing on with that. Please to hide away from me, I'll treasure you and Jacob always.**

**Chris**

He seems to know instinctively what I need to hear."

"Then why all the tears?"

"Because it's hard to put yourself out there. It's hard to trust, trust that it's real and not temporary. I'm afraid."

Reid didn't comment, he just took in that bit of info. "Well let me go put the kid in his crib."

When Reid returned she was sitting on the couch. The notes were gone and she had her head resting on the back of the cushions. Reid sat next to her. "You're afraid too aren't you?"

Katie snuggled into him, "You're afraid that what you have with Luke won't last."

Reid put his arm around her but still didn't answer.

"Reid life doesn't come with guarantees; do you know how hard I tried not to love Brad? Have I told you how many times I've been married?"

Reid cocked an eyebrow at that.

"Never mind, but the thing is, in the end I was glad I took the chance. Try to give Luke that chance. If you don't, I think you'll really regret it."

"Yeah and what about you, Miss Advice Columnist? You gonna follow your own damn advice?"

"Are you actually encouraging me to give Chris a chance?"

Reid rolled his eyes. He was. He was actually encouraging his best friend to give Doogie Hughes a shot. He couldn't believe it.

"Shut up!"

They just sat there comforting one another for a few more minutes when Katie piped in with, "Bet Luke loves that you're such a snuggler."

That was it, he pushed Katie off and stood up. Katie was openly laughing at him. "God you two are just alike, you're so sappy!" Reid looked at her face and couldn't help laughing too.

Brianna and Casey burst through the door then. "Hi Katie, Reid," Casey said. He looked a bit awkward.

"Reid, you're home, I hadn't realized the time."

"Obviously," Reid looked at his sister feeling a bit put out seeing she was with Casey again. Wasn't that ridiculous though? Seeing as he had neglected her several times since she came to town in order to be with Luke.

"Great news," she said, in a bubbly voice. "Luke is letting Casey and me fly to California on his jet. He's having a company help us to wrap up my paintings and fly them back here. Isn't that great?" Again Casey looked a bit awkward. He wasn't sure what his aunt and Brianna's brother would think of this idea.

Reid didn't have a chance to comment, in fact the door was still standing open when Luke rushed in. "Great you're here!" he said looking directly at Reid. "I had a miracle worked today and finished up all that I needed so that I could take you somewhere for dinner after all."

"Is that so? Well what if I made plans?"

"With who?" Luke looked surprised.

"With Katie, I'm taking her to dinner. Bree would you mind babysitting?"

Bree gave her brother a blank stare.

"Yes Brianna, would you mind babysitting?" Katie asked and all the room looked at her. "What? I'm not having dinner with Dr. Grinch there, I have something else I need to do."

Everyone had a look of relief on their faces and Reid just gave a "Thanks for nothing as usual Katie."

"Great, come on." Luke grabbed Reid's wrist and began to drag him out the door.

"Wait!" Reid protested, "I can't go out like this." He was wearing a full set of scrubs. Not his usual jeans and scrub top. He'd had surgery today and was so out of his mind with hunger that he'd never changed.

"Yes you can, come on!" Luke succeeded in pulling him out the door.

* * *

On the drive Reid was curious. Where could Luke possibly want to take him looking like this? They began to leave the town and Reid was thoroughly confused. Where the hell were they going? He resigned himself to another picnic by the pond or something. But they drove past that turn. Now what?

Luke was aware of the looks on Reid's face. As they got further and further down the road Reid's brows were all screwed up trying to figure things out. Luke was so excited he didn't even know what to say or do. He picked up Reid's hand and pulled it to his lips planting a kiss on it.

Reid looked at Luke, he was absolutely beaming. This was the same guy he'd doubted only an hour ago. Boy was he really so insecure? What an idiot. Luke obviously had something up his sleeve and suddenly Reid couldn't wait to see what it was.

They finally pulled up to a very long drive with a gate at the entrance. The gate was closed on the drive for the first time. Luke had been sure to close it for effect. He grinned as he pulled up and entered a code and shazam, the gate began to open. Reid's eyes were wide wondering what was happening.

"Luke, where on earth have you brought me to?"

"I've brought you home. I've brought you to our home I hope."

Reid looked at Luke incredulously. But was unable to say a word.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 – Love is in the Air**

Reid was in shock. His entire mind was a question. But he found himself unable to vocalize anything. As Luke pulled up to the end of the long drive he stopped the car and turned to look at Reid who was still quiet and motionless.

"Reid, are you ok?"

Still saying nothing he just turned and looked at Luke with wide eyes and nodded his head. Luke smiled and got out of the car and open Reid's door.

"Well, are you coming in or what?"

By now Luke had seen Reid speechless before but never for this long. Reid got out of the car as if in slow motion and followed Luke up to the door. While quiet and shocked Reid was still observant and took in the serene beauty of the area in which the house sat. No other houses for miles around, lots of trees and the dark wood and rock facing on the house made it look rustic. As they entered it seemed bright and yet very comfortable. It was furnished with dark leather furniture and dark wood and yet still had a bright look. There were so many large windows, it was difficult to make it look dark within. Reid loved the tech-ee stuff though. The larger than life TV that hung on the wall, the stereo and speakers placed around the room.

"Well?" asked Luke.

The brilliant doctor was still unable to form a sentence. He just looked at Luke and then looked around the room again. Luke grabbed his hand and drug him through to another room. They headed toward the kitchen. Reid was amazed by the kitchen. Luke turned him to face the giant refrigerator. Reid's eyes opened just a bit wider which neither man thought possible. Luke touched a button and the TV in the fridge door sprang to life. Reid touched his hand to his heart then and Luke smiled. Then Luke opened the door and let Reid asses all the food within. Finally a smile broke out on the good doctor's face. He turned around and pulled Luke into a bone crushing hug. As he let go he looked into Luke's dark brown eyes and traced his forehead and side of his face with his fingertips. "I love you."

They just stood there staring at each other for while looking at each other. Then Luke leaned in, gave him a quick kiss and took him by the hand leading him out the back door of the kitchen to the patio. Reid took in the pool and the expanse of property behind it. "Do you like the pool? I had to have them add that."

"Luke it's all incredible."

Then Luke pulled him inside and took him to another room that opened to the back of the house. It was a large library looking room. Expansive windows and French doors, with bookshelves along one wall that went to the ceiling. There was a large mahogany desk and a sofa. "This is for you especially. A place for you to put all of your medical books and journals and a place for you to work when you aren't at work."

Reid walked in and looked over the room, examining all the touches that Luke had put there. "You can change it anyway you want to." Luke said, "I want you to be comfortable here."

"It's the most amazing room I've ever seen. But what is the sofa for?"

"Oh, that's for me. So I can be close to you when you're burying yourself in your work. I can read or write and just be with you."

Reid put his head down, shook it and then looked up at Luke through his lashes. "I've never had anyone just want to be with me before. It's kind of strange to hear."

"Sure you have, Brianna wants to be with you and so does Katie."

"Well, Brianna's different, and Katie, well she's … she's just unstable." They both laughed at that. "It's nice." Reid said as if from nowhere.

"What's nice?" Luke asked with his brows furrowed.

"That you want to be around me, even if I'm working. It feels … you know, good."

"Yeah it does," Luke walked toward him. "It feels really good." And with that Luke placed his hands on Reid's face and began to kiss him. Soft open mouthed kisses that made Reid's head swim. Luke pulled back and trailed kisses across his cheek to his ear and in a husky voiced asked, "So, what you say?"

"I'm hungry?"

"What?" Obviously this wasn't the answer/question that Luke expected. "Seriously?"

"I've hardly eaten today."

"I find that hard to believe." Luke looked at him disbelievingly.

"I had that cinnamon bun thing from Java this morning, an emergency surgery for lunch, and a sandwich with two bites out of it still sitting at Katie's for dinner."

"Oh my god! This is an emergency!" Luke laughed, "Good thing the refrigerator is well stocked."

He took Reid by the hand and dragged him to the kitchen. "I can't begin to know how you build those sandwiches of yours, but I can grab the plates while you do the rest."

"How did you know what to buy? You have everything in here." Reid had his arms full of most of the contents of the fridge.

"How do you think?"

Reid nodded, "Bree."

"Well you don't call yourself a genius for nothing." Luke laughed.

"So what made you so sure I'd move in with you?"

"I wasn't sure, I'm still not sure, I'm hopeful."

"You're a sap! And I need a knife to cut the sandwiches. When did you buy this place? You did buy it I assume."

"We bought it. Here. I might have uhm, sort of, maybe, forged your signature along the way.." He handed over a knife.

"You what?"

"Well, I wanted this to be our house, not my house. So I signed your name a few times and might sort of had someone in my office notarize it and well…. I wanted your name on the deed is all. I wanted this to be your home too."

Reid stuffed his mouth full of sandwich, and spoke with his mouth full. "Blackmail, now forgery, where will your criminal activities end Mr. Snyder?" He tried to grin but his mouth was so full it didn't quite come off.

"Are you angry?"

"Angry? Are you kidding me? You bought me a house for heaven sake. Of course I'm not angry." He said swallowing.

Luke grabbed a soda from the fridge and placed a beer in front of Reid. "Better drink something before you choke on that thing." He said pointing at the sandwich. "So, you still haven't answered me. What do you think about living here? With me that is. Do you think you want to try it?"

"Depends." Reid said munching down another bite of his sandwich. Then he grinned evily. "Is this where the mysterious king size bed is?"

Luke grinned at his handsome doctor clad in scrubs. He was adorable with the spot of mustard at the corner of his mouth with his cheeks bulged out with food. "It is in fact here, yes."

"Are you gonna eat that?" Reid asked, looking at Luke's untouched sandwich as he poked the last bit of his own in his mouth. Luke just shook his head, put half of his sandwich on Reid's place and then took a bit of his half.

"So that's a yes?" Luke asked. God but the man was irritating, how long would he dance around the question?

"Of course," Reid said, as if it was a given. "How could I say no? Besides, I own half of it, why wouldn't I live here?"

Luke grinned so big he thought his face would split. Reid watched him and his breathing stopped. "Reid. Reid! EARTH TO REID! Reid breathe you're scaring me!"

"What? Sorry." Reid shook himself out of his trance. "You are real aren't you Luke? This isn't a dream, its real right?"

Luke walked around the kitchen island to where Reid sat on the barstool. He turned Reid around and stepped between his legs and kissed him, pushing him back against the counter. "Do I feel real?" Luke whispered against Reid's mouth.

"Very." Reid said, giving himself up to the kiss. After a while he pulled back. "Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Snyder?"

"Do you need seducing Dr. Oliver?" Luke asked breathlessly against Reid's cheek.

"Definitely."

"Then yes, I am."

Luke trailed kisses down Reid's neck and covered his adam's apple with his mouth, sucking slightly. "Mmmm. Where's the bedroom?"

"We have several," Luke replied, leading Reid down the hall. He walked backward not letting his eyes leave Reid's. "But ours is this way."

"Why do we have several? Are we going to move around a lot?"

"Well, I thought someday, you might soften up enough to want a family."

Reid couldn't help but laugh. A few months ago he'd have never considered such a concept. But things had changed so much, hell he'd go watch Disney on ice at this point if Luke asked.

"Why is that funny?" Luke stopped as they reached the bedroom.

"Well I hate to break it too you, but I am a doctor I know what I'm talking about when I tell you that I can't bear your children." Probably not the right time for his sense of humor but old habits die hard.

Luke leaned forward as if to resume kissing Reid's neck. But sunk his teeth into Reid's shoulder instead. "OUCH!... Ouch! Luke ok. Yeah a family sounds good. But later. Right now can't we just fawn over Jacob and Reid?"

Luke raised his head and removed Reid's scrub top to look at the shoulder he'd just abused. "Yes, we can do that. You know, I may have to teach Bob Hughes that little trick. Comes in handy for getting a direct answer, instead of you dancing around a subject."

Reid smirked while twisting his head trying to see his shoulder. "Just don't tell Doogie, I'm afraid he'd try it." They both laughed.

Luke leaned down and kissed the pink marks on Reid's shoulder and Reid sucked in his breath. It had been much more than 24 hours since Reid had felt Luke's lips on his flesh, and he was starved for him. Luke pushed Reid backward as he kissed his shoulder until he was against the side of the high luxurious bed. Reid reached his hands underneath Luke's shirt and lifted it over his head. Luke pushed Reid down and lifted his feet removing his shoes and socks. Then he pulled him to his feat and released the tie on his scrub pants. He slid his fingers down Reid's hips divesting him of his boxers as well as his scrub pants. Then he moved him aside. Reid felt a bit abandoned as Luke turned his attentions away from him to the bed where he grabbed an armload of pillows and tossed them to the foot of the bed and then dragged the comforter to the foot as well. As he was bending over the bed Reid walked up behind him running his hands from the small of Luke's back down over his backside and down the back of his thighs. Luke felt a catch in his stomach and then his jeans were incredibly tight and uncomfortable. Reid reached a hand between Luke's legs to feel Luke's throbbing bulge beneath the denim and smiled as he heard Luke gasp.

Luke turned back toward Reid and they stared at each other while Reid made quick work of Luke's remaining clothing. Fire seemed to blaze from the emerald green eyes and Luke felt as if he was drifting away on a wave of fiery passion. He'd never known anything like the intense, earth-shattering orgasms of the last several days. After a few fire blazing races to release, their love making became torturously slow and each touch deliberately evoking pleasured sensations in the other. Reid couldn't believe his good fortune. A home, a real home. Even if it was in Oakhell. He gazed lovingly at the beautiful blonde that was kissing his chest. Finally he understood all the drivel in the greeting cards about love. His mind even drifted toward Luke's suggestion of a family. Yeah, he could do a family with this gorgeous man. Then Luke's teeth caught hold of a pink nub on Reid's chest and his thoughts were drawn back to the task at hand. "Mmmm."

* * *

Katie bravely marched toward the hospital looking for Chris. Before she could reach the entrance she saw him standing in the lobby in dressed as if to leave. Chris saw her but made no attempt to approach her. Brianna had advised him to give Katie her space while sending notes addressing his feelings. He'd used all his willpower to do just that. But now Katie seemed to be walking right toward him. She was walking so determinedly toward him that he backed up a few steps. "Katie?"

"Shut up Chris, you've said enough," as she reached up to kiss the dimpled doctor.

* * *

Casey felt a bit awkward being left along with Brianna. He knew she'd caught him looking at her more than once that afternoon as she'd nursed her baby. This was crazy. They'd been out on only a few dates but Casey was dying to touch her. He had to do something to distract himself. "Hey, let's take the kids and get dinner at Al's." Brianna who had felt a bit anxious as well readily agreed to that idea. They loaded the baby seats into Casey's car and headed to Old Town.

When they arrived Brianna loaded Reid into a hammock type sling around her tiny body while Casey pushed his little cousin in the stroller. They did in fact look like a happy little family and Casey enjoyed the looks he was given by people. This was the kind of comfortable feeling he'd imagined months ago when he'd attempted to marry Allison. But he'd always felt insecure in that relationship. As though he'd been trying to hold sand and it was slipping through his fingers. Casey reached over and slipped his hand in Brianna's. She looked up at him with a smile in her eyes and he quickly looked back to the path ahead of them.

Brianna thought it felt good to have her hand held in Casey's firm grip. She'd been sensing the sexual tension oozing from him all day and had been ecstatic to leave the apartment afraid of rushing things. Here, this was nice. This felt good, and she saw in Casey a desire for more than just sex. He wanted companionship as well. That hadn't ever entered the picture in the few encounter's with her baby's father. She'd just given into desire and not expected much. So she'd not been surprised and only mildly disappointed with his reaction to her pregnancy. Casey was different though. But he was young and she knew he'd recently been though a lot. She gave his hand a squeeze as she thought about him and all he'd been through.

Casey looked down at her questioningly but then relaxed and brought her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it. He didn't even notice Alli walking past with a bittersweet smile on her face. Happy to see her former love happy, and yet sad for her own lost opportunity.

Brianna held the door to Al's open for Casey as he pushed Jacob's stroller through. Vienna still thinking she'd need to avoid Casey saw him coming and ducked into the back. Still watching Casey and Brianna from her vantage point. They took a booth in the corner where he placed Jacob in a high chair and took the sleeping baby Reid from her and placed him into Jacob's stroller. Vienna was astounded at how domesticated Casey seemed with the babies. Before Brianna sat down he planted a quick kiss on her full pink lips and then they took seats opposite each other. Vienna heard a "Leipchen" from the back and pushed aside her doubts about her current course.

Brianna loved the pure innocent smile that Casey displayed. She wondered how he could look so boyish and yet so sexy all at once. And finally he put a voice to her concerns. "Brianna, I want to take this slow I really do, but…" he paused trying to come up with a delicate way to put it but failing in the end. "I have no idea how I'm going to keep my hands to myself during this trip. Looking at you all the time is driving me crazy."

"Looking at me? You're the one walking around in the tight t-shirts and form hugging jeans." She laughed.

Casey tried to formulate a sentence to tell her how he felt each time he saw the round globe of creamy skin peaking out behind Reid's tiny head each time she nursed her baby but in the end… well how the hell do you say that? He just sat there turning red with heat instead.

Brianna thought at first that her comment had embarrassed him. He was turning red. But the look on his face wasn't embarrassed it was lustful. And as his eyes drifted to her full breasts light dawned and she felt her nipples harden as he gazed at her. Now she was the one blushing. Casey cleared his throat. "Ok, let's eat and get out of here."

They both giggled, and picked up their menus.


	22. Chapter 22

**Next chapter will definitely be more Lure content. I finally had some writer's block. The recent show content and lack of Lure content is getting me frazzled. I'll do better though I promise.**

**Chapter 22 – Everyone's Thinking**

Jacob had been a bit difficult at Al's. Brianna and Casey had needed to barricade their dinners to avoid the incoming missiles of food that they tried to get into Jacob's mouth. Casey seemed to bear the brunt of the assault. He almost looked as if he'd been on the losing team of a paint ball match. But neither Brianna or Casey had been upset by the episode, they'd only laughed and smiled at each other and enjoyed the evening. Brianna had needed to feed little Reid and Casey had been glad for the distraction of Jacob and the food attack. Casey looked up and smiled as his Grandad and Kim walked toward them. His Grandad must be just getting off work because he wore scrubs.

"Hello Casey, seems as if you're been stuck with baby duty. Where's Katie?"

"Hi Grandad, Kim, yeah Brianna and I are watching Jacob, Katie had something important to do I guess. Brianna this is my Grandad, Dr. Bob Hughes."

"Oh, so you're Dr. Hughes." Brianna smiled brightly.

"Yes I am, and you are?"

"Oh Grandad, I'm sorry, this is Brianna Jenkins, she's Dr. Oliver's sister." Casey pitched in.

Kim raised her eyebrows at that. But on closer appraisal she could see the resemblances between them. "Nice to meet you Brianna, I'm Mrs. Hughes."

"Brianna, I'll be back in a sec." Casey said, "I just want to see if I can get some of the war debris off of me." He rose from the table.

"Sure," she said. She looked up at Dr. and Mrs. Hughes and asked if they would like to join them but a quick look at their food spotted table and they declined. Jacob was now getting drowsy and little Reid was about full. Brianna looked at her half eaten dinner and smiled as she thought how many half eaten dinners were waiting for her down the road. She looked across at Casey's plate and noted that he'd somehow managed to devour his dinner in spite of Jacob's assault.

Casey was in the men's room using paper towels to scrape off some of the food Jacob had splattered him with when Vienna entered. She turned and locked the door and walked toward him with a seductive look in her eyes. Casey felt kind of disgusted, he'd actually been turned on by this a month ago? What the hell was he thinking? "Vienna what are you doing?"

"I can't help it Casey," she did her little pouty thing. "Watching you out there, you just looked so sexy, and I want you, I really want you Casey."

"You're like engaged now Vienna, you said it was over."

"I know what I said, but…" She ran her hand up Casey's muscular arm.

Casey kept very still as Vienna kissed him, he wasn't really sure what to do. His eyes didn't close and he didn't return the kiss. In fact it just left him cold. But as she pressed against him something was off. He put his hands around to her back. "You're a real piece of work ya know. Man, I can't believe I was so worked up about you being pregnant." As he spoke he released the fastening of her tummy padding. He held it up in his and as she stared horrified. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? You're really so desperate to trap a man into marriage that you try to have me impregnate you so that you can pass the kid off as Henry's? Well, thank God it didn't work!" He unlocked the door as she tried to grab for her padding. But Casey was much stronger than she was. As he walked through the door he bolted right into Henry.

"Hey, I'm sorry man." He handed him the padding as he spoke. "Look at the bright side, it won't need any 3 am feedings." Henry had a shocked look on his face. Casey felt bad for him, it was obvious that he'd heard every word. "Are you ok?" Henry just crossed his arms and bit his nail. Casey shook his head and went back to his table while Vienna chased after her fiancé. He couldn't even feel sorry for her being outed to Henry, it was far past time that the guy knew the truth about her. He took one look back then walked to his table and looked at Brianna. The contrast was indescribable. But it affirmed for him what he wanted from a relationship. He started to hear raised voices from the back and asked Brianna, "Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Ready when you are." She smiled up at him. He gathered up Jacob and returned him to the stroller while Brianna fitted Reid back into his sling. He looked over at Bob and Kim and them turning and trying to see in the back of the small diner what the yelling was about.

"See you later Kim, Grandad." And they were out of there.

* * *

After about 5 rounds with the insatiable Luke, Reid had power napped. Now he woke to the sound of the shower running. He decided to explore the large master bedroom. He looked up and discovered a drawing of himself. _What the? Where did that come from?_ In the drawing his eyes were closed and he had a baby, his nephew sleeping on his chest. Apparently Luke had taken the time to mat and frame this. Reid thought about how comfortable and serene he looked in the picture. _No wonder he's dreaming of family and happily ever after. Is that who I am when I'm not looking?_ Reid had always assumed he didn't like kids, they were noisy and messy. However, he loved Jacob. And with Brianna and little Reid around, he'd felt like his life was full for once, not just consumed by his work. He hadn't been the least bit intimidated by the tininess of his nephew, in fact he'd been overwhelmed with affection for him. _Ok, so apparently they do know me better than I know myself._ He was thinking of Katie, Brianna and Luke.

Luke emerged from the adjoining bathroom. And saw Reid looking at the drawing and smiling. "I see you've noticed my drawing." He crawled onto the bed walking on his knees to the other side where Reid stood leaning against the bed staring at the picture. He put his arms around him and pulled his back against his chest and kissed his neck.

"No need to ask where, but when did you get that?"

"Brianna gave it to me the first night I met her. I think I'd interrupted her drawing. She had several of you and the baby laid out and a half finished something on her sketch pad."

"So she just gave it to you?"

"She saw me staring at it, I was pretty distraught that night. I think she felt sorry for me. I had it framed the next day and it's been by my bed ever since. So that I can see you when I wake up."

Reid gave a short laugh, then turned and crawled onto the bed knocking Luke on his back and straddling him. "You really are sappy you know."

"You are too you know, you just try to hide it."

"Whatever." He kissed Luke's neck, and up to right under his ear. A definite hot spot for Luke since Reid could feel him hardening beneath him.

They both gave a startled jump when the pager went off on the nightstand. Reid grabbed the small appliance off of the nightstand. "Emergency, head trauma."

Reid called the hospital and got the particulars and ordered a few tests while Luke gathered up their clothes. Luke was disappointed as was Reid, but they both slid off dressed in a hurried fashion and drove to the hospital.

* * *

Casey and Brianna arrived back at Katie's and successfully got the babies put to bed. Of course Reid would be awake again in a few hours for another feeding but for now they had a little time alone. They sat on the couch with the plan of watching a movie but the electric waves between them were too much to withstand and innocent cuddling became touching and petting, which let to kissing and after a few minutes of Casey bending at an awkward position to access Brianna's beautiful mouth he'd lifted her onto his lap where she was able to meet him kiss for kiss. She tasted sweeter than any other kiss he could remember. He was impressed with how much he wanted to continue kissing her, he wanted it to go on forever. But he didn't want to rush things either. This felt good and right. He didn't want to begin an intimate relationship with anyone being able to walk in any minute. Tomorrow they would fly to California, they would have days on their own. He pulled back from the kiss and she looked lost and dizzy.

Casey beamed a smile at her. "Well that was a knock-your-socks-off kind of kiss."

"Mmmhmm," she murmured.

"I don't want this to happen too fast. I really care about you. I want this to be… you know, special."

Brianna was moved more than she had words for. She touched the side of his face and kissed his cheek. Not moving from her position she laid her head against his shoulder with her forehead against his neck. It felt so comfortable to be right there. She placed her hand against his chest and he stroked her hair.

They didn't know how long they had stayed there. It was a while they knew but they were both loath to move. Finally the door opened and Katie came in. "Oh, you two… look comfortable."

Brianna slid off of Casey's lap and Casey stood up. "Uhm, yeah." He looked a bit sheepish at his aunt. "So where have you been?"

"I've been with Chris."

"Chris? As in … my uncle Chris?"

"Yes, as in your uncle Chris."

"Wait, you and Chris?"

"Yes Casey, me and Chris."

Brianna was watching this banter curiously.

"Eww, I don't know this is too weird."

Brianna was finally too curious to keep quiet. "So you're Casey's aunt and dating his uncle?"

"Well it's not like he and I are related. I'm Casey's mom's half sister, and Chris is Casey's dad's half brother."

"Oh." Brianna couldn't help but remember her brother's snarky comments about "Oakhell" and "all of its inbreeds". She was however smart enough not to let one expression cross her pretty features.

"Well to make it even more confusing. My uncle Chris, and my mom have a brother in common. I dunno Katie, this is just kinda weird for me. I mean I want you to be happy and I know there is no reason for you not to date Chris, but it's gonna take me a while to get used to this."

"I understand."

"I should go," he looked back at Brianna who'd been more of a spectator than a participant in the exchange. "Luke said the car would pick me up first tomorrow and then we'd swing by to pick up you and the baby."

"We'll be ready."

"I didn't realize you were leaving tomorrow." Katie interjected.

"Oh Katie, I hope it's not a problem." Brianna looked concerned. "We'll just be gone a few days."

"Casey, are your mom and dad ok with this?"

"Katie, I'm a big boy now."

"Of course you are. I'm sorry. I'm just going to go check on Jacob." She shook her head and walked away.

Casey watched for her to disappear into the nursery and then gathered Brianna into his arms and kissed her. "See you tomorrow then?"

"After a kiss like that, I'll be counting down the minutes."

And with that he turned and left.

Brianna walked toward the nursery. "Ok Katie, what gives?" there was nothing sarcastic in her tone, it was full of concern and face was soft and caring.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked as she touched her finger to the sleeping Jacob's flushed cheek.

"Did it not go well tonight Katie?"

"No, it went well. It went almost too well. But then I came home and …"

"And what?"

"Well Casey's reaction. Maybe he's right, maybe there are just too many reasons for us not to be together."

"Katie, does Chris possess the qualities of a man that would make you happy?"

Katie looked at Brianna soberly. "Yes."

Brianna smiled a reassuring smile at Katie. "Then give it your best shot silly. Why on earth should you let something that can be so good slip through your fingers. From what you've told me you almost did that with Brad, and look at all the happiness with him you'd have missed out on. Your best tribute to the love you two shared is to say that you learned from that experience. That you're willing to step outside of convention to show someone that they are worth the risk."

"You're absolutely right." She hugged the other girl. "I'm so glad you're here. You are coming back right? I mean you won't change your mind and stay in California? Will you?"

"Of course not." She once again flashed Katie her reassuring smile.

"Well in the mean time, Reid will be able to sleep in his own bed."

"Errr, yes Katie, he will, but I'm not sure that his bed is here anymore."

"What do you mean?" They had now moved back into the living room.

"Luke bought Reid a house, he gave it to him this evening I believe."

Katie squealed with delight. "Oh my god, oh my god, when did he buy it?

"A few weeks ago."

Katie was on cloud 9 hearing about all the details from Brianna.

* * *

Reid got out of surgery. He was exhausted. It had lasted for five and a half hours. He went to his office and plopped down in the high backed desk chair. As he turned in the chair he saw Luke. He was sleeping peacefully on the sofa across from him. He'd found time to brush his hair. Reid smiled, Luke was always fixing his hair. Earlier today it had been spiked up. Tonight it was brushed down into bangs on his forehead. Reid kind of preferred the unkempt look he'd had when they'd gotten back here to the hospital after the page. It was sexy. It had said 'I've just had sex and a shower.' And it had made it difficult for Reid to leave him and get back to work.

Reid stared at him and thought how angelic he looked. _This is the real thing,_ Reid thought. _This is forever._


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 – Love is in the Air**

Reid had never had sappy thoughts before like kissing his lover awake. He hated to disturb Luke who slept so soundly in his office, but he'd much rather go back to his new home and continue his rest. He walked over to him, knelt down by the sofa and pressed his lips against Luke's slightly parted lips. "Mmmm," Luke murmured. "You're done? How'd it go?"

Reid kind of whispered his reply, not wanting to wake Luke to much too fast. "Well it wasn't quick and dirty. Only time will tell how things really went, but I was able to repair a lot."

"What time is it?" Luke finally opened his eyes and could see the desire in the other man's eyes.

"It's around 3 or…." The rest of his reply was swallowed by Luke's open mouth on his. One minute he was whispering to a sleepy, peaceful Luke and the next he was in the midst of the hottest kiss he could remember. Before he could even remember where he was he was lying on top of Luke on the couch. "Luke, god, wait, I didn't lock the door. Besides, let's go home huh?"

"K, but you drive this time."

Figuring Luke was still sleepy, Reid reached out and took the offered keys. Reid was tired too. Very tired, but never so tired that he'd refuse the offer of sex if it were provided. Luke was sleepy though so he didn't hold out any expectations. At least that was until they got out of the hospital parking lot. When Luke reached over and began to pet Reid thru his scrub pants. Reid jumped and would have swerved the car had Luke not put a steadying hand on the wheel. "Easy there Dr. Oliver, I do hope you're more steady than this in the operating room." Reid's only reply was to cock and eyebrow at him and then return his attention to the road.

The streets were deserted it was the middle of the night after all. Luke continued his erotic massage, which brought forth a groan from Reid periodically. "Luke, good grief, I can barely remember where the house is without having to drive with a major hard-on."

Luke just laughed as he untied Reid's scrub pants and adjusted his shorts so as to free the bulge from the confining material. "Geeze Luke, what's got into you?"

"Nothing yet," Luke said seductively, "but give me time."

With that Reid pulled the car over and looked at Luke. Even in the dark of the car and the barely existent moonlight Reid could see the playful, lusty look on Luke's face. It was a look that turned Reid into putty in Luke's hands. Reid was amazed when Luke bent down and reached across Reid to the electronic seat control and moved the driver seat back as far as it would go and reclined it a little. Then covering Reid with his mouth he took the man to new dimensions.

Reid lay back panting. "I can't believe this. We have a brand new home with a brand new bed just a few miles away and here we are, getting it on in the car like a couple of teenagers. Ok, now you're driving." Reid pulled his clothes back into place while Luke walked around the car. As he scooted over into the passenger seat he laid his head back and closed his eyes. What was this new world that he'd stepped into? One filled with affection, adventure, and fulfillment. He opened one eye to look at the handsome blonde driving them home. Home. What a day. What an incredible, fabulous day. Just a bit of sleep would make it perfect. As they reached their new home and crawled into bed they settled into a comfortable position. Reid lay on his side with Luke pressed against his back with an arm thrown over his middle. Ok, well he'd never been a snuggler really, but he could get used to this, this feeling of belonging. As he drifted off to sleep Reid remembered how annoyed he'd been when a man named Luke Snyder had called his office in Dallas a few dozen times. As he placed his hand over the hand pressed to his stomach, a smile crossed his lips and sleep claimed him.

* * *

They woke the next morning to get bagels and lattes to take to Katie's. Reid hadn't realized that his sister was leaving that day but once aware wanted to see his family before they set sail on Luke's jet. Luke sat in the kitchen chatting easily with Katie while Reid and Bree sat on the sofa. She was making Reid give her every particular of his feeling about his new home. She was so happy for her brother that she was bursting. Tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She'd wanted this more for him than he'd probably wanted it for himself. Seeing him finally happy instead of just content meant everything.

Reid held his nephew and looked down into the face of the quiet baby. He took in the large grey eyes that he knew were destined to be green just like his mom's. His mind couldn't help but travel back to Luke's statement _"I thought someday, you might soften up enough to want a family."_ He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Luke this, but he was softening up much faster than either of them would have guessed. He'd complained constantly over the last few months about living with Jacob, but truth be told, now that he was moving out he was going to miss him very much. Damn, he was going to miss Katie too. He smirked. _'Holy Codependency indeed!'_

"What's so funny?" Bree asked.

"Oh nothing, and don't try to get inside my head. I mean it!"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Katie and Luke sat watching the exchange between the siblings. They couldn't quite hear all the conversation but they enjoyed watching the once bitter, sarcastic Reid being human. "I would never have dreamed of seeing him like this a few weeks back. I thought his sulking and pillow hugging and general grouchiness would last for much longer."

"Pillow hugging?" Luke asked with a grin.

"Don't ask. But don't underestimate his feelings for you Luke. He was suppressing them and denying them long before your trip to Texas."

Luke cocked his head and let that bit of information settle in.

"So I'm not sure what Brianna will do once she returns. She and little Reid are more than welcome to stay with Reid and I. The house is huge. But I feel as though you're being deserted."

"Don't worry on that score. Brianna and I have discussed it and she and the baby are going to stay here with me. We're both single moms. We can help each other out. And she thinks that you two need to settle in together for a while before having house guests. Besides, I'm not really ready to be alone again yet. I will miss Reid though. I felt a certain amount of security having him here."

"You know we're just a phone call and 15 minutes away Katie."

Katie had stood up to refill her coffee cup and was standing behind Luke when he said that. "I know," she said as she leaned down to press her cheek against his and give his shoulders a squeeze. "I'm really happy for you two. Believe me, I wouldn't change this for the world."

Reid and Luke went in to the bedroom to pack his things. Reid also needed a change of clothes for work today. He eventually left in his own car for work and left Luke behind to finish packing up. Luke did that, called to check on the car he'd ordered for Casey and Brianna, texted Casey to be sure he was ready to go which he was. He helped to carry Brianna and little Reid's things out, bid Casey and Brianna a good trip, and then loaded his own car with Reid's things. He said goodbye to Katie and set a course for the foundation. He was so behind there he wondered if he'd ever catch up.

* * *

Casey and Brianna were excited and nervous. Casey couldn't wait to see California and the place that Brianna had called home, Brianna couldn't wait to show him around a little. But both of them knew that this trip would probably alter their relationship. They were both as nervous as teenagers on a first date. Awkward and yet comfortable with each other. That lasted through half of their flight until while talking Casey noticed how intently Brianna was looking at him with her deep emerald eyes. He loved her eyes, he'd never seen eyes that color. And they looked so wise and understanding and kind. He let his gaze fall to her lips and as if on cue the tip of her tongue came out to wet her lips. Casey leaned down to taste them. Several long massaging, explorative kisses ensued. That kind of broke the ice and after they pulled apart the awkwardness had left and they worked in unison the rest of the day. It felt as if they'd always been together.

Casey had served time in prison, and yet there was a fresh innocence about him. Brianna admired his excitement and for life and his dedication to making things right, better. She felt that she could trust him more than most people. And it didn't hurt that he was so attractive. Ok so she was robbing the cradle a bit. How important was that? It wasn't as if she'd even been married before. The major difference between them was that her education was finished and her name established in the art industry. While Casey had years of school ahead of him. Also it wasn't as if he shouldn't be tied down. He'd been married before and almost married a second time while she'd never made an attempt to walk down the aisle.

The car Luke had arranged for them dropped them at her front door. The driver helped them with their bags and affirmed that a car would be back to retrieve them in a 3 days. Oh they could have done what they needed to in 2 days, but the lighting and windows in Bree's cottage would be perfect for hammering out a few more pieces. And Casey had been anxious for an opportunity to enjoy the beach.

Casey watched as Brianna laid the baby down in his own crib and wondered how long he would have to wait before he could kiss Brianna again. He wasn't sure what a woman like Brianna would see in him, but he was the type of person that didn't enjoy being alone. He liked being part of a couple. He was energized by the companionship and attraction. He wondered if Brianna was similar to that or if she would tire of his attention after a while.

Brianna wondered how she would concentrate on gathering up the pieces that she wanted to take back to Oakdale with Casey around. Her awareness of him was in hyper drive. Everywhere she'd been so far she'd felt the heat from Casey's body close by. She was incredibly comfortable with Casey and yet she'd been fighting a battle trying to keep her hands to herself.

As she came back down the hall to where Casey stood, he spoke first. "Brianna, maybe me staying here isn't the best idea." Brianna knew he was trying to be noble. But her earlier thought's had put to rest her doubts and now she wanted him fiercely. She walked up to him slowly and placed her hands on his abdomen moving them up to his chest. It was all the encouragement that Casey needed. He groaned excitedly, lifted her off the ground, kissing her passionately. In answer Brianna wrapped her legs around his waist, her hand on his head nestling her fingers into his hair. He walked them to the bedroom.

* * *

Reid was glad for a light day today. Yesterday had been overwhelming on a personal and professional level. He'd had two emergencies yesterday. One in the middle of the day and the one late last night. He really was tired. Bob stopped by and urged him to go home early. Reid didn't argue a bit with that suggestion. He was tired, but there was also something that he'd wanted to do. He stopped by Old Town to take care of it.

"I guess simple and elegant is what's in these days," said the clerk. "Someone else bought the exact same one only a few days ago."

_Bla bla bla, yeah so what. _"You don't say," Reid said paying for his purchase.

The clerk saw Reid's disinterest and thanked him for his purchase before Reid walked out.

Reid was tired, he ached all over. The gym was definitely out today. But it was warm, very warm, and he had a new pool at home. Home, the image of the elaborate house and the word 'home' would take a while to reconcile. Never the less he loved it. He pulled out his blackberry and texted Luke.

**Off early, heading home. –R**

A few minutes later came the reply.

**Wish I could join you now. Been neglecting work. All backed up here. Will get away asap. –L**

Reid stopped for a pizza, he went home grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed out back. _Swim trunks, I need swim trunks. _He looked in the bedroom and Luke hadn't brought his things over yet. They must still be in his car. He looked thru Luke's things and finally found a pair. He headed back to the pool. He dove in and swam a few laps, then laid on a lounger in a shaded spot, and devoured half a pizza and the bottle of beer.

Luke worked thru one of the three stacks of incoming mail and proposals that had been sent in his absence and couldn't plow through anymore. Not knowing that Reid was at home waiting on him. Everything was still too new and exciting and he just couldn't concentrate. He arrived home to see Reid sleeping on a lounger in full sun. He walked out and Reid started as the shadow of Luke fell over him. "Looking to get sun stroke?"

"Well it wasn't sunny here when I laid down."

"Hmm, you'd better come inside before you get burned out here."

Reid smiled at him, "Swim with me first."

"Well you're wearing my trunks."

"Is that really such a problem?" Reid was way too quick for Luke. He grabbed his cell phone tossing on the lounger that he'd just vacated and by the time Luke thought to run it was too late.

*SPLASH* Luke came up gurgling. He looked back up at for Reid not realizing that Reid had dove in right after Luke. Reid popped up from the cool water behind Luke wrapping his arms around his waist. "That's really wasn't fair." Luke complained. But as he felt Reid's lips on his neck all coherent thought left. He felt Reid pulling at his shirt. "Hey, what now?"

"Well you can't swim in all that can you?"

"Reid…"

"Isn't this one of the many benefits of owning a secluded home?

"Now what are you doing?"

"Well," Reid said as he'd pulled of the swim trunks and now twirled them on his finger. "You wanted these, now come and get them."


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm thinking maybe I should have named this fic "Love Gets Easier" it is definitely getting easier and more comfortable for Luke and Reid. I'm trying to wrap this story up but just had several parts that I wanted to incorporate though. We'll see how it goes. Hope you enjoy though.**

**Chapter 24 – A Helping Hand / Please Take My Hand**

It had been a few weeks now since they'd been in their own home. Luke couldn't believe how fortunate he was. Brianna had told him not to underestimate Reid's ability to feel and understand and she'd been so right. As Luke sat at Java across from Brianna talking he couldn't help but notice that Noah wasn't working. Wasn't this his usual shift? As he glided back to the conversation with Brianna he heard all about her trip to California with Casey. They'd had a great time and she'd thanked him so many times that he'd had to tell her there would be a penalty if she continued.

"So how are things with you and Casey?"

"Good, he took little Reid and me home to meet the parents last night. They were bit cautious at first but I think in the end we won them over. It didn't hurt that little Reid and I have red hair like his mom." She giggled, "It kind of helped us fit in."

"Their good people, but pretty protective of Casey."

"Yeah that didn't make a secret of the fact that thought that he jumped headlong into relationships way too fast."

"Well they have a point there, but, I can't imagine you not winning someone over, a couple of more meetings and they'll probably love you more than Casey," Luke laughed.

"Well I don't know about that, but their opinion of me did rise a few points when they learned I'd never been married nor had I broken any engagements."

Luke smiled. "Brianna about that… You've never been married, yet your last name is Jenkins. Why is Reid's "Oliver"?"

"Oh, I thought you'd have asked Reid about that by now. Well that's no big secret. When our parents died we went to live with Aunt Judy and Uncle Oliver. Reid wasn't one to trust. It took him a while to warm up to them. Especially to Uncle Oliver. He kept expecting him to try to change him." She smiled at Luke. "And you know how defiant Reid can be."

"Oh yes, well that's putting it mildly"

She continued, "Well, Uncle Oliver finally won him over. I think it was the first time Reid ever had someone love him unconditionally besides me. But it was pretty heartbreaking. We didn't go to live with them until we were 12, and Uncle Oliver had an aneurism and died when we were 16. After that Reid asked Aunt Judy if he could change his name. She was overwhelmed with pride and that was that."

"Aneurism. Wow, that must have been so hard. Is that why Reid chose neurology?"

"I'm pretty sure it is, but he doesn't talk about it. He's got a picture of Uncle Oliver pressed into some medical book though. I've seen him find it and stare at it a few times."

"And do you have pictures of him too?"

"Of course I do." She reached into her wallet and picked out a picture of her and Reid, Uncle Oliver and Aunt Judy. "This was only about a month or so before he died."

Luke looked at the picture. The man had such a kind look about him. But Luke couldn't help but be drawn to the teen image of Reid. Tall and lanky, a little nerdy looking but with a condescending look on his face. Luke smirked inwardly. Then he looked at the tiny Brianna still with her long hair, still looking like a little garden fairy minus her wings. Then he looked at their aunt Judy, she reminded him of Grandma Emma. "And what about your Aunt Judy?"

"She passed away while we were in college. Reid and I met back at their home, but a relative was seeing to the arrangements for us. You know she was the culprit that taught Reid to like those ridiculous sandwiches. I sometimes think that they are less about food and more about reminiscing."

Luke laughed. "They are probably about both, don't kid yourself Brianna, with Reid is all about the food." She laughed too. "Brianna, how do you feel about commissioned work?"

She looked at Luke questioningly and comically. "Wow, you can be pretentious can't you?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "A surprise for Reid, let me explain what I have in mind."

They walked around Old Town for a while, they were supposed to meet Reid and Casey for lunch. Luke was pushing the stroller and looking at little Reid, once again admiring how much he looked like his own Reid and feeling a pang of desire for a family one day. He was pulled from his thoughts by a gasp from Brianna. He turned to look at her.

"Over there!"

He followed her pointed finger to an ally alongside Yo's. He could see feet and legs. What's more, he could see that the shoe's on the feet looked pretty familiar. Luke ran for the man. "Noah!"

He was unconscious.

Brianna called for an ambulance and then dialed Reid. She explained the whole situation and he and Casey must have ran all the way because they were there with them long before the ambulance came. Reid got right to work examining his 'former?' patient. Noah had certainly been beat but. But Reid could see an underlying problem that he didn't want to voice in front of Luke.

Luke wasn't quite sure what to think. He hadn't spoken to Noah since that party at his mom's house. That had been a month or so ago. He said he was getting some help but… Luke shook his head. He'd just have to wait and talk to him after he regained consciousness.

Brianna stood close to Casey. She looked at him questioningly. Casey just looked down at her and shrugged. But she could see the concerned etched on his face.

* * *

"He's awake," Reid said coming out of his room. "I told him you were waiting Luke, he'll see you. He's asking to see Allison Stewart. Casey, maybe you could find her?"

"Yeah, right away," Casey said as he disappeared down the hall.

Luke entered the room where Noah sat staring at his hands. "Hey Luke."

"Hey."

"So, guess you're wondering what happened."

"Noah, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But yeah, I am wondering."

"I've been a little depressed. I don't really have anything to work on. Making coffee isn't exactly filling the void."

"I wish that you would have called or something."

"Luke, you've got your own life."

"Yes I do, but you're still part of it. I want us always to be friends Noah."

Reid entered the room. "I have some test results back. Luke if you could step out a minute."

"No, it's ok. I haven't explained yet but I will. You can talk to me in front of Luke."

Reid was still just that tid bit insecure where Luke was concerned but tried not to show it. He began his talk. "Your Tox screen shows traces of Phencyclidine. Now I have to ask if this is something you've indulged in more than once."

"No, it was just this one time. It was supposed to make me feel better. They guys I was with injected me with it. They said it would work faster that way. It seemed to make me angrier than I've ever been. I started a fight, but there were three of them. That's the last thing I remember."

"Noah I don't think I have to tell you. You've recently had brain surgery, that kind of drug use isn't healthy under the best of conditions, but least of all for you right now. You'll have to stay here overnight for observation but then you can only be released if you'll be with someone 24 hours a day for the next 10 days. You'll need to be watched for seizures, convulsions, or extreme and sudden depression. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah, can you just shoot me now?"

"Noah." Luke felt awful for him.

"Luke, I appreciate that you found me and got help. But can you please not be here in my room while I contemplate finding myself a babysitter for 10 days?"

"Noah, maybe I can help."

Noah looked at Reid with a pleading look. "Luke, please wait outside."

"No, Reid?"

"Luke."

Luke resigned to obey and stepped out of the room.

"Noah, he cares about you. For once, can't you just accept his concern and let him help? Do you have any idea how it eats away at him to not do anything?"

"Why does he want to fix everything all the time? This isn't his business. It's mine."

Reid shook his head. No wonder things hadn't worked out between them. Reid's insecurities where this boy was concerned flew out the window. Noah didn't understand Luke or his way of loving at all. But maybe this one time he could talk Noah out of his stubbornness.

"Noah, you spent the entire time you were blind making Luke as miserable as you were. Can't you give back just this once? Let him help you for god's sake. Let it be a parting gift or whatever. Let it be the thing that validates the importance of your relationship for both of you. Call it whatever you want, but you're in a jam, he – actually we – can help."

Noah looked at Reid questioningly. "How?"

"You know my sister is here."

"Yeah Alli told me, she's dating Casey." Noah thought to add 'Don't you guys believe in dating people your own age?' but thought better of it.

She's an artist, she's preparing for a show and painting around the clock. She's been using our patio the last week. But she needs help with the baby while she works. She's been struggling on her own. You could spend time with her during the day, and Nurse Stewart could pick you up after her shifts.

"Well maybe your sister wouldn't want a depressed, drug experimenting, idiot helping with her baby."

"She might not, but if I give my expert opinion on you and check on you every day as well she'd probably agree. Can I ask?"

"Well how does this solve the problem of letting Luke help?"

"You'd be spending your days at our house, Luke would feel like he's contributing."

"You and Luke have a house?"

"Actually, yes we do, complete with pool and everything. It'd be like a therapeutic summer getaway for you Noah. What do you say?"

"I'd say no if I had another option. But I really can't afford to stay in the hospital for 10 days."

"Great, I'll ask. Be right back, she was with Luke when they found you, actually she was the one who found you and she's waiting outside."

Noah had a shocked look on his face and wasn't quite sure what he'd just gotten himself in to as he watched Dr. Oliver leave the room.

Noah watched through the window as he sat down by a tiny girl that resembled him and spoke to her. He could see her ask a question, look down at the baby in her arms and without hesitation look up at him nodding affirmatively. Was she crazy? She wanted to spend her time with someone she'd just found unconscious in an ally?

Noah watched the whole scene. He saw the girl pass her baby off to Luke and walk toward his door. He saw Luke grab Dr. Oliver's hand. He saw how grateful Luke was. He saw the affection that the doctor showed to Luke. Apparently Dr. Oliver did understand Luke well. _He appreciates the parts of Luke that always drove me crazy_, Noah thought.

He braced himself as the pretty little red head walked toward his bed. What do you say to someone when you sit here completely stripped of dignity accepting charity?

"Hello Noah." Noah was stunned at the melodious voice and the calm kindness with which she spoke. He'd rather pictured her to be more like her brother. Who in all fairness seemed to be a bit more kind these days.

"Hi." He felt a bit sheepish.

"I'm Brianna. How are you feeling?"

"Like an idiot actually, and like a freeloader."

"Noah, I know this is terribly awkward. But I'm hoping that we can do something really positive over the next couple of weeks. Something that could really make a difference in my work. That is, if you'll consent to help me."

"Well yeah, I've already agreed to watch your baby while you watch me." Noah had a look of self disgust on his face.

"No, that's not at all what I meant."

"I don't understand."

"I'm told that you only recently regained your sight. I'm also told that you're pretty good with a camera."

Noah just looked at her not sure where she was going with this.

"Noah I'm thinking that I could create a new collection of works as seen through your eyes. You can explain to me what you see in a particular scene, what is special about it after not having been able to see in several months. That way I can reflect your perspective in the piece."

"I see."

"This could be an incredible opportunity for me if you agree. We could spend the first couple of days driving around, taking pictures that strike you as appealing. Then with your commentary on them I can paint them. My show is in just another 2 months time. It would mean a lot to me to be able to present a collection such as this. What do you say?"

A smile crossed his face for the first time. He put his hand out to her and she shook it. She gave him a warm smile.

In the hall Allison was filled in on the plan and later saw her friend, comforted him, and confirmed everything with him.

* * *

When Reid got home that evening Luke had a special dinner planned. He'd been cooking. He'd wanted to do the whole candle lit dinner thing but then thought this dinner was a treat for Reid not for him. Reid wouldn't appreciate the candles. He'd just make sure that when it was his turn to make dinner for him that he did prefer it. Reid just preferred meat. Luke had grilled steaks and made twice baked potatoes. Reid would definitely appreciate that.

When opened the door and smelled the food he thought he'd landed in paradise. "What is that smell?"

"That my good doctor is a special treat for you."

Luke greeted him with a kiss and led him to the table outback. It was set already and with two tall glasses of lemonade. Reid sat down while Luke went back to the kitchen for food. He reappeared with plates loaded with the potatoes. He went to the grill and put a rib eye on each plate. He then put fresh grilled asparagus on each plate and sprinkled them with parmesan.

Reid watched him intently realizing for the millionth time this week how fortunate he was to have Luke in his life. He had a heart the size of Texas. He had passion to match it. Not to mention he was sexy as hell.

Luke turned around with his masterpiece plates and walked toward him. Luke noticed the look on Reid's face. "What?"

Reid shook his head. "Just thinking some sappy nonsense and it's all your fault!"

Luke smiled at him. "Reid, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I can't believe now that I was once afraid of a relationship with you. Do you have any idea what's it's like for me to be accepted for who I am and not feel like I have to change? It's … it's… I love you Reid… Thank you for fixing things with Noah. I know you did that for me, and I want you to know how much it means to me."

Reid wasn't about to give in to the emotion that had overwhelmed him with Luke's speech. He wore his poker face which Luke saw right through. Luke leaned forward and kissed him. It was a promise of things to come that evening. But Luke pulled back barking instructions for Reid to eat. Reid didn't need to much convincing though. The food was wonderful, even the veggie. He'd never tasted anything as good as the meal that his lover had made for him. And he'd never enjoyed eating as much as he did with Luke across the table looking at him with more affection and heat than Reid had ever seen before.

* * *

That evening they used the hot tub. Luke wanted to give Reid time to relax and rest after dinner. But he did have more romantic ideas in mind for later. When they came back in Reid wanted to lay down while Luke took a shower. Reid had an idea of what Luke had in mind and checked the night stand for supplies. What is that? He reached to the far back of the drawer and pulled out a card with his name on it and a small box. It looked similar to one he'd gotten a couple of weeks ago. He read the card.

_**Reid,**_

_**I never knew life could be so amazing until I met you. Life is more vibrant than it has ever been. You make me feel needed and taken care of at the same time. I'll never get used to how I feel when I'm with you, but I know I never want that feeling to end. With you I've never felt so wanted and I've never wanted so much. If I wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life it won't be enough. I'm hoping you'll agree to make this officially permanent.**_

_**I love you,**_

_**Luke**_

Reid felt like he couldn't breathe. It's the feeling he always got when he stifled tears. He opened the box and couldn't believe his eyes. He put the ring on his finger and stared at it. It was a gold band with two strands of white gold twisted into a rope that went around the center. It was perfect. He couldn't believe Luke had done that. He tried to take the ring off and put it back until later. He didn't want Luke to know he'd found it before he wanted him to. The ring wouldn't come off. He tugged and pulled but it was no use. He was about to try some of their lube when Luke emerged from the bathroom. Reid stuffed the card under the comforter and put his hand behind his back as if he was holding himself upright with it.

Luke was too quick for him. He looked at Reid with a grin. "What are you up to now Dr. Oliver?"

"What makes you think I'm up to something?" It was the same look that Luke had seen when Luke had asked him months ago if he was hustling him and Reid had said 'Why would you think that?' In other words it was a guilty look.

"Reid what do you have there?" Luke pounced on the bed grabbing at the covers and finding the card he'd written. "Reid!" he pouted. "I wanted to give you that."

Reid looked down, feeling really bad. "I know."

"Well where's the ring?" Luke had found the empty box.

Reid simply lifted his hand revealing the ring.

"Danmit Reid, I wanted to put it on your finger."

"I know, I tried to get it off, but it's stuck."

Luke tilted his head to the side as if to say 'Really?'. But when he tried to get the ring off he was also unsuccessful. He looked at Reid and saw how bad he felt for this and Luke instantly realized he didn't want this to be a bad memory. He took Reid's hand and brought it to his mouth.

Luke sucked in Reid's ring finger. He almost couldn't stifle the laugh that bubbled in his stomach and pulled at his face when he looked at Reid. His eyes were wide almost filled with shock. That just egged Luke on further. He sucked the finger, swirled it with his tongue, and bobbed it in and out of his mouth a few times. Reid's mouth actually dropped open. He looked like one of those cartoon characters. Luke wouldn't be able to keep this going much longer. While he was stifling hysterical laughter, Reid was totally turned on. The evidence was larger than life between them. Ok, yeah that could put the laughter on the back burner for Luke. Still though, a devious grin now pulled at the sides of Luke's mouth. He grasped the ring with his teeth and slid it off of Reid's finger. Luke sat back then and Reid instinctively rubbed his finger with the other hand. Luke stuck out his tongue with the ring sitting on it like a prize. He reached up and grabbed it then smiled broadly. "So, what is your answer Dr. Smart Ass?"

Reid was speechless once again. All his life he'd never had a problem finding something to say, until he met the beautiful blonde god with chocolate eyes. Now it was a frequent happening. He simply nodded his head yes with his eyes wide. Luke laughed. He loved catching Reid off guard. He bet no one else could do that to Reid. Leave him speechless, unable to articulate a single phrase.

Luke grabbed Reid's hand and pushed the ring back into place. "The two white strands represent.."

"Our lives," Reid interrupted. "Intertwined with each other forever."

"How did you know?" Luke was astounded.

"If I gave you something really awesome, could I get a repeat of that performance with a minor alteration?" Reid smiled and got up off the bed. He went to the dresser and reached to the back of his sock drawer. He pulled out the blue dress socks that he almost never wore and pulled out a box identical to Luke's and walked back to the bed. Now Luke was the one with mouth gaping open. Reid handed him the box and Luke opened it to find an identical ring inside.

"But when did you?"

"The day after you brought me here the first time. When did you?"

"The day before I brought you here." Reid took the ring from the box and placed it on Luke's finger; tears streaming down Luke's cheeks.

Reid placed his hands on the sides of Luke's face using his thumbs to wipe away the tears. "Let's make love Mr. Snyder." With that statement Reid pulled Luke on top of him and laid back. They kissed deeper than they ever had if that was possible. Their hearts were so full they were overflowing.

They'd been caught in a whirlwind the last month be neither had the inclination to slow it down. They felt entirely sure of their feelings and now of each other. They knew exactly where they wanted to be for life. With each other.

Luke was giddy like a bride would be. He couldn't wait till he could share the news with his family. He couldn't wait to tell Brianna. He couldn't wait to tell Casey. Damn, he just wanted to shout it to all of Oakdale. But right now… he wanted to fulfill Reid's request. _This will be a night for him to remember for more reasons than one_, Luke thought as he kissed his way down Reid's body.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 24 – Through New Eyes**

It was the night of Brianna's showing. It had taken her a full four months to complete her new collection. Martin had not wanted to wait but Brianna had a way of talking people into things. They had publicized the new collection very well. The fact that Noah's medical case was mentioned in prominent medical journals and was the inspiration of her collection named "Through New Eyes" had helped. It would be shown in Chicago after this, then LA and New York.

Tonight was the opening and it was a formal affair. It would continue throughout the next two weeks on display at the Lakeview then it would be packed and shipped to Chicago to a prominent Gallery there. Brianna's other pieces were staying at Martin's gallery in Old Town.

Luke couldn't believe how well this had all worked out and that Reid had actually been the catalyst to the events. The man never ceased to amaze him. He remembered back to trying to buy off Mr. Judd and how Reid hadn't been angry about that at all. He'd just made a statement about how he hoped it didn't have an adverse affect. Luke found this so different from how Noah had always reacted to things. Reid really seemed to get him in a way that Noah never had. And instead of trying to change him, he embraced who he was.

Luke looked over at his fiancé. "I hate this kind of dressy pretentious crap," Reid said trying to get his tie right for the third time. "We look like that stupid 'Happy Feet' movie your brother likes to watch over and over," He rolled his eyes.

"Come here," Luke said very softly in an attempt to calm Reid. Luke began tying his tie,"Take a deep breath, think of how proud you are of Bree. If you at least try to relax and enjoy yourself tonight I'll make it worth your while when we get home." With that Luke finished Reid's tie and leaned in and kissed that sensitive spot behind Reid's ear.

"Mmm," Luke pulled back after hearing Reid moan but Reid was fast and quickly pulled him back in for a too hot kiss. He grabbed Luke's hips pulling him against his own. Luke grabbed a handful of Reid's hair pulling his head back while he sucked at his adam's apple.

Then letting go of Reid's hair his put his hands on either side of Reid's face and looked him right in the eye. "Remember, you have to **try** to relax **and** enjoy yourself."

Reid had rolled his eyes again. "Easy for you to say. Have you seen Bree's dress? It's slit all the way up the side! I'm not sure what's on display tonight. Her paintings or herself!"

Luke just laughed. "Who would have ever pictured you as the protective brother?" Luke shook his head. "Just let her be Reid, she's Casey's responsibility tonight. He can protect her virtue."

"And who's going to protect her from Casey? My god, have you seen the way he looks at her?"

"She doesn't want to be protected from Casey. I'll bet she was thinking of him when she bought the dress. And I'll bet he looks at her the same way I see you looking at me, so get over it." With that Luke grabbed their cell phones and Reid's pager from the dresser. He tucked the phone's in their respective pockets and clipped the pager to Reid's pants. "Now let's get going Dr. Oliver."

* * *

Brianna was actually a bit nervous. She hadn't been until right up to this minute. She eye'd her reflection in the mirror. Her make-up was good. Her hair was swept back on the sides and her strawberry curls cascaded down her back. She was only a bit disappointed with her dress. She'd bought it a month and a half ago. She'd still been nursing her baby then and her breast were a bit fuller than now. Her tan hadn't completely faded yet so there was no need of stockings. Her dress was an iridescent white and seemed to be always changing colors. It had a tight bodice scooped low in the front and back and a slit up the left side thigh high. Gold sandals completed her outfit and added a couple of inches which she kind of liked. She really didn't mind being so petite, but her lack of height made it awkward to initiate kisses with Casey.

Brianna stepped out of her room and went to check on little Reid. She found Katy and Chris in the living room. The babysitter had already arrived and was receiving her instructions from Katie. As pretty as Katie was in her black evening gown, Chris couldn't help but admire Brianna in the beautiful dress. She was a perfect combination of virtue and sexiness. Every man's fantasy. "Wow," was his simple statement.

Katie turned to look where Chris was looking. She smiled as if she'd invented her. "Hey," she elbowed Chris and he looked at her helplessly. "She is a knock out isn't she? Casey will be speechless. I'm so happy for her, I hope this night is all she wants it to be."

Chris smiled at her, his dimples showing. Katie had such a big heart. He was a lucky man. And now they were embarking on a whole new chapter of their lives together.

The door bell rang. Chris opened the door to see Casey in his tux. "Always the renegade hey Case?"

"What? I'm stylin," Casey said grabbing at the plaid vest that went under his unbuttoned suit jacket. Just then Brianna walked out of the nursery. "Oh my god!"

Brianna looked up and saw Casey. Katie and Chris looked on at the two with big grins. "Hi," she said simply.

"Oh my god," he said again. "You look amazing."

"You guys, I hate to interrupt this but, it's about time to leave and Chris and I wanted to tell you something and after the event tonight it will be late and everyone will be tired..."

They both looked at her questioningly.

"Jacob and I are moving in with Chris. Brianna you can stay on here of course. But Chris found a house for us and we're starting the move tomorrow."

Brianna and Casey looked at each other and smiled and looked back at Katie and Chris. Casey spoke up first. "Your timing… Well, Brianna and I had decided yesterday to move in together, we were going to look for a place after her showing was over." He looked back at Brianna. "As matter of fact, we're thinking of marriage down the road, but we'll wait until the span between college and law school. I'm not rushing this time around. I want everything to be really right."

Katie looked so pleased, you'd have thought that she'd set these two up herself. She let out a squeal of delight as she rushed to them and squeezed them both into a hug. "I'm so happy for you guys."

"Yeah, yeah, we're happy for you two Katie."

* * *

Noah entered Metro. The show was a smashing success, and Brianna said it was thanks to him. He'd changed so much over the course of the last 4 months that it had taken for her to complete the collection that he'd inspired and helped her with. He was extremely confident and depression had faded away. Of course he'd been seeing a counselor and that had helped too. But talking to Brianna had been almost more therapeutic than going to counseling. Now he was finally looking to continue his education in a real sense. He'd even decided to let Luke's Foundation set him up with a scholarship for the International Film Institute of New York. Trying to do everything on your own was tiring and it took forever. He'd traveled that road before and it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Besides, he'd made a pact to contribute back to the foundation if he became financially successful in his endeavors.

He'd learned so much over the last months. He'd watched Reid and Luke carefully. They really related to each other, there weren't all these expectations, there was acceptance. They really tried to understand each other. They laughed together, a lot. They were jealous of each other and they were ok with that. They were flattered by it, not angry. Instead of getting mad, they reassured each other that they were with who they wanted to be with. They let no one intrude on, or interfere with their relationship. They had boundaries. Noah could finally see how he'd let Mason mess with his relationship, he'd had no boundaries.

Noah could see how happy Luke was now, and even though it had hurt at first, he couldn't help but be happy for his former boyfriend. He hadn't seen Luke like this in a long, long time. Noah's therapist had helped him replay scenarios in his mind of how he could have reacted during the rough times of his and Luke's relationship and what the possible outcomes could have been. Noah wanted the same happiness that Luke had now and needed to understand how to make a relationship work.

He hadn't thought he'd been ready for another relationship. He'd gone out with Richard a few times. While Richard was easy to talk to and he was attractive, things just never seemed to be as easy as they had been before he had picked Noah up from the hospital that fateful day all those months ago. He'd gone out with one other guy, and while one thing had lead to another and he'd spent the night with him, he just hadn't been able to stand the guy much after that. He'd had no personality.

And then one evening when he and Alli had stayed up late watching a movie; and then talking about the movie and their lives for hours, into the wee hours of the morning, they'd leaned in for their chaste kiss goodnight as they always did. That's when their eyes caught. They'd just been stuck there, trapped in one of those cliché like moments. They'd been unable to look away or move forward for what seemed like hours although it was only a minute. And it had happened, they'd both closed their eyes and kissed each other. Not a mind blowing kiss, well yes it was mind blowing. But it wasn't one of those high octane passionate kisses. It had been soft and affectionate. It had conveyed all the feelings that they had in common of messing things up, being rejected, and then really needing someone that understood.

Noah wasn't sure what was happening. He'd thought he'd been straight before, he'd then thought he was gay. Now he wasn't sure, he'd been attracted to Maddie, that part was certain. He'd been attracted to Luke, that was certain too. He'd been attracted to Richard for a bit and certainly to the brainless wonder that he'd spent the night with, but right now he was sure he was attracted to Allison and he couldn't deny that. Although, they'd made a pact not to advertise the relationship that they had consummated several times over the last week. Everyone would just assume they'd come together here as friends. Luke might not understand that he like both guys and gals, he might see it as him being in denial about his sexuality. And this was Brianna's night, he didn't want anything to spoil it.

Noah had become very fond of Brianna, and of baby Reid. Who'd have thought he could become so fond of a baby that looked exactly like the current love of Luke's life. The kid was ringer for him and even named for the guy. But Noah had gotten past his dislike of Dr. Oliver. The guy had been really nice to him, in spite of the fact that he wasn't generally nice to people. Although watching him around Luke, Brianna, and the baby had changed his opinion of him quite a bit. He showed little to no signs of being human with the rest of the human race but with those he loved, he loved them fiercely. Noah had been shocked when his therapist had pointed out things that Noah seemed to really admire about Dr. Oliver.

Now Luke was even marrying the guy. He and Luke had never really talked about marriage when they were together. Maybe they'd just assumed it, but if they had talked about it. Noah was sure that they would have put it off for years though, until Noah was out of school and functioning in his career. He noticed that Luke had really seemed to grow up in the last year though. He'd resumed his writing since moving into his own home, he was in charge of an international conglomerate, he ran the foundation and traveled regularly, he'd been instrumental in the development of the Snyder Pavilion, and he held his own against Dr. Oliver. Noah smiled at that thought. He knew Bob Hughes had been hard pressed to keep Dr. Oliver in line before his retirement, and here Luke was (_Luke that I pushed around regularly_) pushing right back against his fiancé, taking none of his crap and actually making the guy make concessions regularly.

Noah had been lost in thought, but Alli appeared beside him flashing him a smile. She looked so beautiful and was suggesting that they find Brianna. The press wanted pictures of she and Noah standing next to pieces of her collection.

* * *

Reid had done nothing but fiddle with his collar since they got in the car. "Would you just relax please?" Luke had rolled his eyes so many times while driving them to Metro that his eye sockets hurt.

"How am I supposed to relax when this thing is choking me to death?"

Luke groaned as he parked the car, he got out and walked around to Reid who was standing up. "Let me see this." He undid the button to Reid's collar under the tie and pulled the knot tighter loosening the neck just a bit. "How's that?"

Reid looked a little surprised. "It's better."

"Good, now remember, it's not about you tonight, it's about Bree. Now suffer any torture for her tonight with a smile on your face."

"Haven't I always?" Reid mumbled, "Well maybe not with a smile on my face."

Luke couldn't help but snicker at him. _And he calls me a drama queen_, he thought.

"At least I won't have to wear one of these things for you." Reid said.

Luke knew he was referring to the wedding. It was set for mid November. Reid was attending a medical conference in New York and Luke was going with him. They were having a civil service there then getting straight on the plane and heading home where they would have a ceremony with family and friends, then heading to Hawaii for a few days and then back home by Thanksgiving. It was just a month away.

"I'd never ask it of you my love; I actually want you to be happy that day." They both smiled at each other.

* * *

The evening seemed to go off without a hitch. Martin had lots of publicity for the gallery, more press than they thought possible had showed to publicize the new collection. Brianna and Noah had posed for more shots than they could ever keep track of. Reid had managed not to slip a cog when he heard that his best friend was moving in with Doogie and that Casey was moving in with his sister. Reid had also had to admit how beautiful Brianna looked even if the slit in her dress was way too high. He guessed he also had to admit (to himself and no one else) to having some appreciation for how attentive Casey was to Brianna and how protective he seemed to be of her. _God I'm getting soft_, he thought. He'd even been civil to Hank. _He'd been there with his brother's mother? God that was weird._

When they finally got home Luke was true to his word. He was thoroughly rewarded. He'd been a bit skeptical at first. When Luke had disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a quart of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, he couldn't imagine concentrating on the task at hand (maintaining his firmness) when something ice cold was placed all over him. But he'd been pleasantly surprised. It was a messy venture but well worth it.

Reid had definitely been the much more experienced one when he and Luke had gotten together, but Luke was creative and adventurous. Now he was showing Reid new things. Reid was grateful for who Luke was. Reid enjoyed their sex life to no end, but if he'd been wrapped up in his career before, now he was ridiculously so. Being Chief of Staff at the hospital as well as heading the neurology wing, there was no end to his work load. The fact that Luke took the time to look up or creatively come up with new experiences for them touched something deep inside Reid and he continuously gave Luke all he had, emotionally and physically. He knew Luke gave him the same and he smirked at how much he'd changed in the last year. He tried not to show it, but he was actually looking forward to their upcoming nuptials. Luke knew of course but pretended not to. They'd taken their rings back off after that first night to save them for the wedding. But they were both looking forward to putting them back on for keeps.

"Reid?"

"Yeah," he answered, lying on his back with eyes closed while Luke's head rested in the crook of Reid's shoulder, Reid's arm around him.

"I've been happy, for months now."

"Yeah," Reid said, not really sure where this conversation was leading.

"I don't think that's ever happened in my life before."

"Being happy?"

"No silly, being happy for so long. I don't think I've ever been happy for this long before."

"That's sad Luke."

"Have you?"

"Sure, I guess."

"When?"

"I don't know, when I was in medical school?"

"Was that happy? Or just content?"

"Ok, I get your point."

"So have you?"

"No Luke, I guess I have never been happy for this long before either." Luke smiled and Reid reached over and kissed his forehead and switched off the light. "Good night you sap."


	26. Chapter 26

**Lots of fluff, just for Vallie, who keeps me entertained with a wonderful fic! -_Time Will Tell -_****Thank you Vallie, hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 26 – The Honeymoon **

Reid followed Luke as they walked around to the section of beach that Luke wanted to go to. "I still don't understand why we had to come all the way over here. There was a perfectly good beach right in front of the hotel, and they served drinks!"

"Reid, would you just stop complaining for once?"

They'd been in Maui for 2 days now and had barely ventured out of the hotel. They'd gone snorkeling once but in 2 days that had been their one and only outing. They'd had dinner at the hotel restaurant last night but every other meal had been delivered to their room.

"If we'd stayed there it would be too easy to end up back in the hotel. We'd be the couple who loses their tan in Hawaii and think of the ribbing we'll get back home."

Reid smirked, "I can take it."

"Reid? Would you just come on." Luke was hiding a grin and trying not to look Reid in the eye.

While waiting for their trip they'd been visiting tanning salons. It had actually become a contest as to who could get the best tan. It was something about not wanting to show up in Hawaii as the pale boys from Illinois. Reid remembered that first day when Luke had come home with his pink sensitive skin. Reid hadn't been able to resist smacking him on the back.

Later Reid had realized that Luke bright pink flesh was everywhere. The grin that split Reid's face was filled with humor. "My god, you went in completely buff?"

"Don't you?" Luke had asked completely serious. "otherwise you get tan lines."

"Some parts don't need sun, besides, the tan line give me a point of reference." Reid shrugged.

Still, the image of Luke naked in the tanning bed was a turn on for Reid and they'd made the most of it, even if Luke did have to endure several swats to his tender ass.

The tanning had continued until they'd left for New York. They'd looked a bit out of place for this time of year with their deep tans. Once in New York Reid had been so focused on the conference that he hadn't had much of a chance to think or get nervous about the wedding. Luke had shopped and done every touristy thing under the sun while there. And finally the morning had arrived. This was the day.

As they entered the lobby to check out of their hotel they saw Casey and Katie sitting there talking. Reid and Luke looked at each other quizzically then walked up to their honorable bests. "What are you doing here Case?" was simultaneous with Reid's "Katie?".

"Well we couldn't have just anyone witnessing your legal vows now could we? You need to have the signatures of your "Honorable Bests" on your marriage certificate." Katie declared.

Honorable bests was the term they'd decided to use. Reid was damned if he was going to have a maid of honor while Luke had a best man. _No freakin way!_

"Yeah dude, this is part of the job right?"

"Is Bree here?" Reid couldn't help but ask hopefully.

"No man, she's too busy making sure everything's perfect once you two get there. My mom and dad are watching the kids while Katie and I are up here, and your sister is flitting around like a humming bird overseeing everything."

Reid was a little disappointed but was comforted by the fact that Brianna would make sure that things didn't get to frilly back home.

The civil ceremony had gone by in a blur. It was just kind of plain and they'd been in and out in less than a half hour. The only thing either man could remember was the looks in each other's eyes, the huge smiles once it was over and Katie sniffling alongside Reid.

All the butterflies were over for Reid. Now there was just the motions to go through at home for Luke's sake. The plane ride back to Oakdale was quiet and uneventful. Luke and Reid just held hands and relaxed giving each other moony looks while Katie and Casey shared knowing smiles.

Their home had been invaded by aliens, it was disturbing to Reid to have all these strangers around but at least Brianna seemed to have it all under control. And there were plates of food everywhere. It couldn't be all bad.

They were in their room getting ready and Reid was looking incredulously at what he was supposed to wear. "Are you kidding me?"

"What? It's not a tux."

"No, but why's it all white?"

"It's traditional!"

"Traditional for virgins. I hate to break it to you, but we're not virgins Luke, this is ridiculous."

Luke smirked this time. "You got me there Dr. Oliver, but this is our wedding and I want us to wear white. Look, you've got jeans and sneakers, be happy."

Reid just rolled his eyes. He looked at Luke who was wearing white dress pants, white shirt and was tying a white tie. Reid started to laugh. Luke looked at Reid completely stricken. "What?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, you look like a pimp or something." The smile on Reid was full of humor and snark but tears were welling in Luke's big brown eyes. Reid pulled him down on the bed next to him. He wrapped his arms around him. "look, I know you want this to be special, but honestly, as long as we're here together it will be special. Right?"

Luke nodded but buried his head in the side of Reid's neck. Reid kissed the top of his blond head.

"Besides," Reid continued, "its' like 45 degrees out there."

"I have an idea." Luke jumped up wiping tears from his eyes. He went across to the closet and pulled out a couple of white hoodies. He'd purchased those for the honeymoon thinking of a cruise to Alaska before finally deciding on a warmer climate.

Reid couldn't suppress a smile. Luke stared at him, "What, this is no good either?"

"It's great." Luke beamed a smile and Reid felt he'd walk out there in his boxers if Luke kept that smile for the rest of the day.

Of course Luke had a pair of white jeans stashed too, Reid had just rolled his eyes. One of them was going to have to change before they left for the honeymoon. He'd be damned if he was going to start out their trip dressed like bopsy twins.

Luke went in search of his parents and when Reid turned from the mirror examining his youthful attire his big-little sister was staring at him. "So, married now huh? I always thought I would be married by now, I never really expected it of you, hoped… but never expected."

Reid held out his arms and hugged Brianna to his chest. "You think this is really me Bree? I almost feel like I'm someone else. Like the real Reid is going to sneak back in and ruin this life somehow."

"This is the real you Reid, it's always been the real you. Oh you'll always be annoyingly sarcastic but most of us have learned to laugh at that. But the defensive you, it goes away a little at a time. You're learning to trust again and to let other people love you and know you. It's what I've always wanted for you"

"God this is a sappy conversation, we can be done with this now. What kind of food is out there?"

Brianna started to laugh but understood as Reid continued to hold her close that he just needed to stop talking about feelings.

"Oh I think you'll be happy with the food. Most of it is catered. But the desert is.."

"Cake I know."

"No you don't know, Emma has something special in mind for her grandson-in-law. I think she enjoys cooking for you more than Luke or even Holden." They both laughed at that.

"So you think I should stop enjoying her cooking so much? Because I'm not sure that's possible."

"No I'm saying that you seemed to have stolen the heart of both of Luke's grandmothers. Emma has been here with me most of the day, making sure everything was in order. She's got a lovely surprise planned for you. And Lucinda thinks that you're sexiness on legs and have finally transformed little Luke into a man, if you weren't gay I think she'd have made a play for you herself."

"Yeah well, she'll change her mind after seeing me in this getup."

They laughed again, "Oh you look great," she assured him, "you always do."

"I know," he sighed.

* * *

A wedding outside in November was a chilly venture, but at least it was a clear beautiful day. The cover for the pool had been opened and there were flower things floating in it, but since it was early in the day they'd been able to forgo the candle bit. It was actually pretty simple, there were silver punch bowls and a chocolate fountain, but the flowers were kept to a minimum and no white decorations hanging around. Some people were dressed up but some weren't. Everyone was pretty comfortable. They stood out in front of their favorite tree to recite vows. In front of their family and friends they repeated the same vows that had made them legal that morning, but this time they were met by ooh's and awe's. When it was time to seal the deal with a kiss Reid leaned in for a chaste kiss in front of their friends and family but to his surprise Luke pulled him close, dipped him and kissed him. Reid gripped tight just to make sure he didn't fall, and all the guests roared with laughter, especially Casey and Chris. Reid grabbed the hood of Luke's sweatshirt and spoke into his ear as Luke was bringing him up to his feet again, "You'll pay for that Snyder!"

"One can only hope, and the name is Oliver in case you've forgotten." Luke had a devious grin on his face. Much like the one Reid liked to wear.

Emma's surprised turned out to be a wedding pie rather than a wedding cake. There were some kind of stands that made it look like a tiered cake but it was Emma's caramel apple pie. Reid was in heaven. It was even warmed up prior to serving it out and piled high with ice cream. As much as Reid hated family gatherings he was pretty sure he could do them as long as Emma was cooking.

The crowd had all moved inside due to the cool temperature. Reid walked over to Katie and Chris. "Thanks for being there for me today, Katie."

Chris was grinning at Reid, dimples prominent in his cheeks. "I liked that kiss up there Reid, you just looked so cute."

Reid looked at Katie with the 'are you serious' look and said, "Did he just say I looked cute?"

Katie smiled, "I believe he did."

Reid pinched his eye closed, turned and walked away. He was gone only for a moment and returned. "By the way Chris, just a word about the hospital while I'm away…"

Chris turned to look at Reid, Reid's arms snaked out and grabbed Chris. He dipped him much as Luke had dipped him for the kiss. Chris wore the most astonished look anyone had ever seen on him and 'flash' went the camera with Reid grinning. Reid righted Chris and went to give the photographer a pat on the back. He turned again to face Chris, "Call me cute again sometime." And Chris had been speechless for the rest of the afternoon.

Noah and Allison were there for the ceremony. They had just settled in New York a month before. But there was no way either of them would miss Luke's wedding. Luke still wasn't sure what he thought of them. But they both seemed happy. Allison was happy at a bigger hospital where she had no history with the staff. Noah was happy at school. Luke hugged them both and accepted their congratulations as Reid found a few moments to spend with Bree and little Reid.

Not wanting Reid out of his sight for long Luke joined him and his new sister-in-law. Luke bend down and whispered in here ear. "Where is it?"

"It's in his study."

Reid looked quizzically at them both. "Let's go have a look shall we?" Luke said.

Reid transferred his nephew to his hip as he followed his sister and husband down the hall. As they entered the study there was a large framed portrait propped up against the sofa. It had a big bow around it which hid the object of the painting.

Luke walked around behind Reid and wrapped his arms around his middle. Brianna stepped forward removing the bow. It was a painting of Holden standing behind a young Luke, and Oliver Danly standing behind an adolescent Reid. "It's a wedding present for us both." Luke purred into Reid's ear. Do you like it?"

Reid said nothing, just shook his head affirmatively. His eyes shot up to Brianna standing next to the portrait. "You painted this?"

"Luke came to me with the idea months ago. He wanted something that would mean a great deal to you both. Something that would warm your home and belong to both of you."

He looked at Luke, "I can't believe you thought of this. I never would have."

Lucinda came looking for them, "There you are darlings, have you looked at the time? If you don't leave soon my pilot will have to file another flight plan and you won't leave until tomorrow. The driver is waiting outside, now scoot."

"I have to change first." Reid protested.

"The only thing you're doing is looking at your gifts from me on the way to the limo, change on the plane if you have to but GO now."

They were ushered out toward the door with Lucinda right behind them. It was a planned scene as all their loved ones were gathered and waving to them. They stepped out and were given only a few minute to view the BMW convertible and the pearly white Escalade in the driveway. Lucinda thought the chief of staff needed a car that reflected his stature in life (pretentious Reid thought, but who's complaining) and Luke needed something luxurious but rugged. She hugged them both and herded them into the waiting Limo.

* * *

Now here they were a little less 2 days later trekking through an overgrown path to Luke's perfect stretch of beach. Reid was pulling at the neck of his t-shirt. "Are all my shirts going to be this freakin tight?"

Luke grinned even bigger. "Yeah, but some of them are polo shirts so you can unbutton them a bit."

"Can you not think of comfort when you buy me clothes?"

"I did, I thought about how comfortable it is looking at your fantastic body in shirt that clings." He said it so matter of factly that Reid could only shake his head. The tight t-shirt and sand in his shoes served to distract Reid as they settled in a spot on the beach and laid out their blanket.

Reid finally looked at Luke and shook his head in astonishment. He pulled the dark Oakley's down the bridge of nose and looked around. "Damn Luke, have you lost your freakin mind?"


	27. Chapter 26b

**A/N: This is really short and uncharacteristic of me, but I just had this thought and wanted to get it out before continuing the story. **

**C****hapter 26 and a half – The Nude Beach**

Reid sat there mouth slightly open in shock as he watched Luke peel his shorts off in the midst of who knew how many people. Luke looked at him grinning wildly and Reid quickly flipped onto his stomach.

"Come on Reid, it will be fun, something to remember."

"Forget it."

"C'mon Reid, you'll be the odd man out if you don't."

"Bull shit, I looked around, it's obviously clothing optional. I'm opting to stay clothed."

"Oh Reid, come on, you know you've got the cutest ass out here."

"I do know, no need to prove it."

"But Reid…" Luke leaned down whispering several things in his ear.

"And?"

Luke whispered something more.

"And?"

"And I'll special order you a triple thick cut of prime rib for after."

"I'll get a sunburn"

"I brought sunblock"

"Ok well repeat what you just said… just so we're clear."

Luke's eyes darted around to see if anyone was watching their exchange. He leaned close and whispered in Reid's ear again.

"Fine," Reid groaned and began to remove his suit, still laying flat on his stomach.

"Are you going to lay like that the whole time?"

"Are you going to be naked the whole time?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

Luke rolled his eyes.

"Sunblock, hurry up."

Luke grinned evilly. _Payback are hell Dr. Oliver_. "Yeah ok." He grabbed the little bottle of hand lotion from the hotel, putting some on his fingers. He also pulled out the sticker that came with his tanning accelerator removed the backing and laid it in his palm. With one smooth moved he lightly slapped his hand down on Reid's lily white ass. Reid was none the wiser as Luke rubbed the lotion in.

_

* * *

_

Ok well this was getting old

. What fun was there with Reid just lying there on his stomach?

"Ok I'm ready to go," Luke was sure Reid would jump at the chance to leave.

Reid raised his head looking around. One older couple nearby and one younger couple directly to his left. He didn't want to be so conspicuous as to pull his suit back on while laying on his stomach. He didn't want to stand up looking at the old woman with the sagging boobs while he pulled his shorts on either. "Yeah, just relax for a bit."

Luke huffed a sigh, he was beginning to feel guilty as he looked at the color of Reid's backside.

"Uhm, Reid…"

"Can it Luke, we'll leave when I'm ready to go."

"But Reid…"

Reid pulled his sunglasses down his nose again and shot Luke a look that stopped him cold. Luke bit his lip, not sure of what to do.

Lying on his stomach, Reid had missed the several looks from passers by. The red sticker stuck to his cute behind of a butterfly was rather amusing. Reid was really gonna get him for this one. But Luke was remembering the fun Reid had at the expense of his own pink ass several weeks prior and refused to let himself feel too guilty.

The older woman got up in search of a restroom. Now that was an image would rather have avoided. "Luke, hand me my suit! … NOW!" Reid had determined that this was his chance to escape. His trunks hit the side of his head and he stood quickly with his back to the young couple beside him.

As he pulled on the trunks he could feel the scrape of the elastic waist band across his bright red bottom. Brows pinched together he looked at Luke. Luke feigned innocence but Reid saw right through it. Reid reached behind him feeling the heated flesh of his ass. As realization dawned that he was sunburned to the point that his ass would eventually peel he came across the odd slick thing stuck to him.

Luke watched Reid as several expressions played across his face. It was like watching something in slow motion and Luke was already looking around for escape.

As Reid pulled the red butterfly from his skin his eyes widened and then narrowed. He looked at Luke who was not only on his feet already but hastily beating his retreat down the beach. Reid quick as anything dropped the sticker in the sand and ran after Luke. "You'll pay for this Luke Snyder," he yelled.

"Oliver, Luke Oliver." Luke yelled back continuing to sprint down the beach.


	28. Chapter 27

**With the direction that the show had taken, I was in dire need of fluff and happily ever afters. This isn't the last chapter but it does establish my happily ever after ending. Hope you enjoy. **

**Chapter 27 – Christmas at the Farm**

Reid sat on the quiet porch of Snyder Farm and thought about the year. 2010 had definitely been one for the books. How driven he'd been with his career and how full of himself he'd been. He remembered his righteous indignation at being blackmailed into coming to Oakdale. He remembered his fury at being apprehended and forced to stay in what he'd thought to be a hideous, backwoods, nowhere kind of place. He remembered his almost instant attraction to Luke. He smiled as he remembered confrontations that had turned physical and how he'd barely been able to conceal the evidence of his arousal. He remembered seeing Luke in his towel in Dallas and wondered how he'd managed to not grab him and kiss him then. He remembered kissing Luke for the first time and how he'd wished that Luke would have responded more to the kiss then. He remembered a couple of days later after Noah's surgery when Luke had come to see him ranting and then kissing him. Reid knew that this feeling he had for Luke had been sealed in his heart that day.

He remembered how depressed he'd felt that day when Luke had labeled it a mistake and left. Reid remembered kissing Luke again, only to be told a few hours later that Luke loved Noah but Noah had rejected him. He remembered the feeling of his heart being ripped from his chest. Just remembering that, Reid could feel an icy grip in his chest. Reid closed his eyes.

"What are you doing out here?"

Reid looked up to see Bree looking at him quizzically. "Just replaying the events of the year."

"Feeling a bit overwhelmed?"

"Just a bit, it's all good though, Emma made caramel apple pie." He grinned at his sister.

Bree sat down next to her brother and snuggled up next to him. She didn't say a word, just leaned against him as he put his arm around her. "Where's Jr.?"

"With Casey and Uncle Luke of course. Luke is holding him trying to get him interested while Casey demonstrates each toy in detail."

Reid smirked at that. They were quiet for a while as Reid continued to recall the rest of the events of the year. Brianna showing up at the hospital when he'd felt like a shell filled with broken shards of a person on the inside. How the magic that was Bree began to spread her magic around and out of sync parts of the universe seemed to shift back into balance.

He remembered his first date with Luke and the traumatic night in the elevator. How Luke had surprised him with the most incredible home he could have imagined. He remembered finding Noah in the alley and how Brianna had worked that situation out so productively for them both. He remembered becoming chief of staff at Memorial and how he'd struggled to do his best at that while still running the Neuro Wing. He remembered catching Doogie drawing his own blood and how he'd given him mandatory time off until he had a clean bill of health. He'd probably saved his life with that one. As it turned out Doogie had some kind of virus. It had damaged his heart but thanks to Reid pulling rank on Chris he'd sought treatment early enough to avoid a potentially fatal condition. The condition he had now was manageable. Katie had been so grateful, for is foresight she'd brought him sandwiches to work every day for weeks.

Then he remembered his wedding. He remembered the informal legal service that Katie and Casey had shown up to. He shook his head as he remembered Luke dipping him in front of all their friends at their service at home. He grinned as he remembered dipping Doogie for the winning picture of the day. He remembered the honeymoon. The cheesiest grinned seemed to spread across his face. A petite little hand perfectly manicured reached up and slapped the side of his head. "Knock it off big brother! Relive that one later!"

Reid laughed, ok later, but he had to remember one last thing on that score. He remembered how insufferable he'd been after the beach incident. How he'd relented to forgive Luke on the promise that he'd extracted from Luke to trace the butterfly outline with his tongue once a day until the image faded. This had lead to hours of fun each time. Luke was still unaware of the stash of butterfly stickers in Reid's desk drawer at the hospital and the fact that he continued to visit the tanning booth once per week. Reid intended to milk this one for as long as possible.

Brianna slapped his chest. "Alright I know you didn't come out here just to think about that! What else is on your mind?"

Reid smirked again. "Luke's started with the kid talks already. Apparently if we wait too long, I'm going to be too old to chase them. Something about me being older than him and I'll let my new job wear me out etcetera."

"And what do you think?"

"I think at least a year with him before kids would be nice."

"Reid?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're a doctor, brilliant Neurosurgeon too I hear."

Reid's eyes narrowed as he stared at his sister. "Ok let's have it."

"Well, you do realize that the incubation period isn't instantaneous. If you and Luke worked on your plan now… You'd still have that year with him prior to kids."

"You know you and Luke seem to be able to persuade me of anything, but can you just give me two minutes to catch up? I'm barely adjusted to the whole marriage thing. I just need to catch my breath before the next phase."

"I'm sorry," she reached up and kissed his cheek. "It's just, do you have any idea the happiness that spills over onto me when you're happy?

Reid gave her a squeeze. "Have I told you how much I enjoy having you and Reid living here close to me?"

"It makes us happy too. I realized once I got here how much I'd missed out on living so far away. I needed to for a while. You were so driven and single minded. After Aunt Judy passes away it felt like you'd locked your heart away from anyone but me. It was just a bit overwhelming. But I think I missed out on so much not being with you during my pregnancy. Not that I was in a shortage of friends…"

"I'm sure you weren't."

"But there is something to be said for being with your family. It's always been kind of just the two of us, except for that brief period of time with Uncle Oliver and Aunt Judy."

"Well that's not true anymore." They both looked up to see Lily standing in the doorway from the kitchen. "I'm sorry to intrude, I was just looking for Reid," she said making eye contact, "but I'll catch up with you later."

"No, no I'm sure Casey is wondering where I wandered off to." Brianna bounced up and was almost through the door when Lily caught her arm.

"Brianna, I really do hope you'll consider allowing us to be your family." Brianna smiled with her eyes and was obviously a bit emotional. Lily pulled her into a hug before she disappeared through the door.

Reid watched the exchange while wearing his stoic expression. Lily had been extremely nice to him since just before the wedding but her manner before that let him know just what an intrusion she'd thought him to be in Luke's life. The occasional family dinners that Luke insisted inviting his parents and siblings over for had been uncomfortable at best for Reid.

Lily sat down next to him and he still didn't say anything, he just continued to stare at his mother-in-law. "Reid," she began, "I don't really know where to start. I'm here to ask your forgiveness."

Reid lifted one eyebrow in response.

"I haven't been extremely welcoming to you in the past. It really had more to do with me than you. Although my first impression of you wasn't exactly stellar, I of all people should know better than to judge someone based on a first impression. I think I just used it as an excuse because I didn't want to like you. "

"And why was that?" Reid was rather curious as to why Luke's mom would prefer Luke to stay in an unhealthy relationship.

Lily began to tear up. "Well it seemed that if I acknowledged that it was ok for Luke to move on from what we all thought was his one true love and find happiness with someone else, that I would have to acknowledge that I could do the same and I wasn't ready to let go." She took a breath and then continued.

"I've treated you so coldly, and for something so far from your control or understanding. I want you to know just how sorry I am for that. I want you to know that I see how happy that Luke is, and I want you to know just how grateful I am that he has you in his life." She stared at him with the same large chocolate eyes as Luke's. He felt that they bored right into his soul. In that moment he understood the Holden/Lily relationship as only Holden had before. Her pouty look and quivering lips were identical to Luke's and Reid began to fall under the spell that Luke had cast on him so many times before. "Can you forgive me? Would you be willing to let me be a part of your and Luke's life, not as the Mother-in-law that you tolerate, but as someone that cares about you and that you might care about too someday?"

Reid studied Lily. He thought her a bit fickle and not quite as loyal as Luke or Holden. But he could see sincerity in her eyes, the vulnerability that lurked in the depths of her chocolate gaze. And in truth, wasn't it that same feeling of vulnerability that had caused him for years to be curt, rude and arrogant? Holding everyone and everything at bay afraid to allow anyone to penetrate the emotional armor that he'd erected as such a young age? Reid gave a slight nod, "Yes I can do that." Lily seemed to have been holding her breath, suddenly letting it out with relief and looking close to tears. Reid reached for her hand, gave it a quick squeeze and released it. "Let's get back inside shall we?

"Sure," Lily nodded as they both rose from the porch bench. Reid held the door while Lily preceded him through it.

* * *

It was definitely hard to get used to this whole family thing. Reid just wasn't used to all this. He'd had almost a handful of warm family Christmases before, but nothing like this. It had just been him and Bree, Uncle Oliver and Aunt Judy. They had taken place a long time ago and hadn't been quite as elaborate as the gatherings his parents had put on, but they had definitely been more from the heart.

The Snyder's family gatherings were slightly reminiscent of celebrations with Uncle Oliver and Aunt Judy but… _OMG! Their family tree was a mess. Emma Snyder, was the former mother-in-law to his mother-in-law, Lily, and yet her grandmother too? How the hell does that happen? Luke's biological grandmother,Iva, is his aunt as well? Jeff Foxworthy would have a field day with this family!_Just thinking of the whole convoluted mess gave Reid a headache! _No wonder Luke had drank himself crazy as a kid. How the hell do you explain that kind of crap to the kids at school?_

Reid was starting to adjust though. And the family had been great about drawing him and Bree into their tight network. Brianna basked in the attention and fuss of the family.

They had needed to split their time between the Snyder's and the Hughes'. Casey needed Bree to spend time with his family so that they got to know her, and naturally they wanted to her to have her brother with her as well. All in all it had been a good day.

He really liked Bob so he'd been able to be around him comfortably. Filling Bob in on the day to day running of the hospital that he'd taken over. It had actually been rather nice watching the way Casey fussed over Bree. She deserved to have someone tending to her the way that he did. And after all he was Luke's best friend. Reid wasn't a people person, but he'd do what was necessary to get along and keep his sister and nephew close.

The Hughes had all seemed a bit taken aback to see him interacting with his nephew. Katie had been present at both family gatherings. Doogie had her at the Hughes' affair and Reid had used either little Reid or Jacob as a filler and buffer when the big gatherings go too much for him. His one uncomfortable moment at the Hughes' was all on Luke. Reid had missed the mistletoe hanging from the high beam of the family room and Luke had kissed him right in front of everyone. Reid's cheeks had burned as the camera flashed and the whole scene was captured for posterity.

"Oh geese guys," they looked over at Casey who was covering his eyes. "Don't I get enough of that hanging out with you two all the time?"

Reid gave a small smile as all eyes were on him and Luke. Luke caught Reid's eye with a devious grin. "Well I don't know Case, Obviously not." Once Luke said that, Reid caught his coded message. They both grabbed Casey, dragging him under the mistletoe, Luke planted a kiss on his right cheek, while Reid planted one on the left and the camera flashed again. That picture would long be remembered. Casey's mouth wide open and eyes big as saucers.

Poor Casey, he stood there crossing his arms, lips pulled into a tight line. "Dudes that was totally unnecessary." Everyone laughed. Brianna sauntered over.

"Are you just going to continue to stand there until they kiss you again?"

Casey looked down into the emerald depths and thoughts of the comical moment all but disappeared. "How bout you kiss me?"

Before she could respond he'd swept her up off her feet and into a passionate kiss. The kiss seemed to go on and on and finally Reid cleared his throat rather loudly. The kiss broke and everyone looked at Reid in awe. Once they saw the expression on his face they all looked at each other and then broke into laughter. Reid curled his upper lip. "What?"

Bob shook his head and caught Reid's eye. "Dr. Oliver, you never fail to amaze."

"Why thank you." Reid shrugged and looked at Luke who was grinning back at him.

* * *

As they entered their home that evening Reid was rummy tired. He'd worked Christmas Eve and all through the night until that morning. He tried to cover and give time off to as much of the staff as he could. Luke had picked him up at about 9am and drug him around to all the family gatherings. And now it was more than 12 hours later.

"You look dead on your feet."

"Point me in the direction of a pillow."

Luke took Reid's hand and led him to the bedroom. Sitting him down on the bed Luke knelt to remove his shoes. Reid stared at Luke through half closed lids as Luke undressed him. "Where've you been all my life?" he asked.

"I've been here, waiting for you without knowing it." Luke leaned down to pull down the comforter and brushed his lips across Reid's. "You know you were amazing today."

"I'm always amazing, when will you ever learn?" Reid's speech was beginning to slur.

Luke rolled his eyes, he was speaking softly now and he removed his own clothes. "You know Reid, if you don't stop saying that all the time I'm going to start telling people just what it is that you're amazing at! And I don't mean neurosurgery."

"Isss ok, you can tellem," Reid slurred.

_I can't threaten him with anything but lack of food_, Luke thought.

Luke slid beneath the covers and Reid gravitated toward him. As Reid layed his head in the crook of Luke's shoulder and tangled his legs with is Luke commented. "Why Dr. Oliver, now who's snuggling?"

"Shutup mooooron, cold, sheetser freezing."

"Yeah, whatever." Luke didn't argue more, he just pressed a kiss into the curly red hair and smiled. "I love you too," he whispered to a sleeping Reid.


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28 – Sandwiches, Chocolate, and Butterflies**

"Ok Dr. Oliver, right this way."

"Should I come with you?" Luke asked.

Reid didn't comment just gave Luke a look that said, 'You're kidding right?'

Luke looked at Lily who was sipping a latte. "Is that decaf?"

"Yes sweetie, it's decaf."

"Ok, just checkin."

Luke sat back down in the chair. _God I hope this works_. Luke picked up a magazine and thumbed through it. Thirty minutes later he had thumbed through all the magazines in that area and had traded them for the magazines in the waiting room down the hall. Now he was half way through that stack. He walked down the hall and hesitantly knocked on the door. "Reid?"

"What?"

"Well how's it going?"

"Not well, go away!"

"Why don't you let me come in with you?"

Silence.

Luke was about to speak again when the door suddenly opened and a grumpy, scowly Reid emerged. He stepped out quickly and slammed the door behind him. "I CAN'T DO THIS!" He was walking briskly toward his office with Luke trailing closely behind.

"What do you mean you can't? Reid you've done it before."

Reid stopped abruptly and Luke slammed into him. Reid was mad and Luke stepped back as quickly as he could. Reid opened his office door, turned and grabbed the front of Luke's shirt and pulled him inside. "Exactly, and each time is more humiliating. I feel like some kind of lab rat while everyone around waits for me to jack off in a jar! I'm the chief of staff for godsake this is a freakin nightmare."

"Reid," Luke tried to sound calm and rational. "You know that this doesn't always happen right away. It could take several tries."

"No, I'm done Luke."

"Wait Reid, please?"

_I won't look at him I won't. He'll start with that damn pouty face and puppy eyes…_

"Reid why do we have to do this at the hospital anyway?"

"I don't know… so it sterile?"

"Well maybe that's part of the problem. Can we just take a breath and try it differently?"

Reid finally turned around, _shit shit shit_, the pleading expression on Luke's face worked just as Reid knew it would. This was old hat, they'd been trying for 3 months, they all knew the drill. There was no reason to continue at the hospital unless it continued not to work.

The first few month they'd tried, everything went off without a hitch. The second time Luke had wanted to "assist" Reid and had spilled the specimen all over himself and Reid. He'd been a bit too playful in his role as assistant and had bumped into to a metal tray behind him and… well that was that. It had taken forever to replace the spilled specimen. The nurses laughter had rang in Reid's ears for weeks.

"Reid?" Luke gave one more pleading look.

Reid placed his hand on the side of Luke's neck, stroking his cheek with his thumb. He shook his head and, "The things you talk me into."

_

* * *

_

They had gotten all the way to late January and although Luke had wanted to press the issue of kids Reid hadn't seemed to be ready to talk. They were both having a day off, using the hot tub when Luke's phone rang. "Mom?"

"_Hi sweetie, how are you?"_

"_Fine Mom, what's up?"_

"_Sweetie I know you're taking the day off, I just wondered if you and Reid were home?"_

"_Yeah why?"_

"_Well Brianna and I were having lunch and we wanted to drop by and discuss something."_

_Luke covered the phone with his hand, "she's with your sister, and they want to discuss something with us." Luke whispered to Reid._

_Reid shook his head affirmatively. He'd been prepared to say no, but he was now actually on good terms with Lily and didn't want to jeopardize that for Luke's sake. Besides, he couldn't say no to Bree, she'd just show up anyway and probably at the most inopportune moment. (He was sure that she got some kind of vibes from him and did that shit on purpose.)_

"_Sure Mom, when?"_

"_We're just leaving the Lakeview now."_

"_Allllright," he drug out the word, "see you in a few."_

_

* * *

_

Lily and Brianna decided to go back to her and Casey's place for the kids. It was Casey's day off and he had agreed to watch Ethan and little Reid while Brianna had "the talk" with Lily.

_Brianna had thought it might be a hard sell to Lily but … Lily being Lily was over the top with excitement and wanted to talk to her son about this right away. Brianna knowing Reid wanted to have little Reid with her when they spoke._

_Casey had been a bit taken aback when they showed up asking for the kids. But he obligingly carried all the gear out to Lily's car and helped to load the kids in. Ethan was still small like Luke had been at that age and still required a booster seat when in the car._

_Casey bent down to kiss Brianna and whispered in her ear, "Damn, what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall there. You better come back with a word by word play, you got it?"_

_Brianna's emerald eyes sparkled. She put her tiny hands on her hips. "Such a gossip Casey, you do remember that I'M the girl in this relationship right?"_

"_You are sooo gonna pay for that remark!" Casey gave her a mock angry glare._

_When the doorbell rang Reid was knee deep in making a sandwich. Luke got the door and an excited Ethan barreled into him. "Hey buddy, didn't know you were coming too."_

"_I was with Casey, we played trucks." He stated matter of factly._

"_Cool." Luke looked up and kissed his Mom and Brianna as they came thru the door. He scruffed little Reid's head as Brianna carried him by. "Reid's in the kitchen."_

_Ethen hurried through the house to the kitchen and began looking around at all the surfaces. _

"_Hey Sport, what are you doing here?" Reid said through a mouthful of sandwich. _

_Ethan knowing his mom is coming rushes to Reid and begins pulling on his pant leg._

"_Ok, ok, what it is?" Reid said bending down to Ethan. Ethan hurriedly whispered into Reid's ear and Reid gave him an O with his lips. Reid held up a finger to Ethan indicating to wait a moment and then held it to his lips to say 'sh'._

_Reid stood back up to greet the women entering the kitchen. "Boy aren't you two looking chipper, " he hugged first Lily (this was how it had been since Christmas, first he would just stand there while she hugged him but eventually he'd warmed up) and then Brianna. Brianna kissed his cheek and he reached to take his nephew from her arms. "Hey there Jr."_

_Reid looked down at Ethan and winked. "Why don't we all go in the living room. Can I bring you anything? Water, soda?"_

_They both cried off saying that they were fine and Reid grabbed a box of chocolate covered donuts from the cabinet and tossed them to Ethan. Reid then grabbed his plate from the counter and followed Luke and the ladies to the living room. _

_As they sat Lily looked at Reid's sandwich and grimaced. She looked at Brianna who looked at her then the sandwich and just laughed. "You get used to it, right Luke?"_

"_Yeah as long as you don't have to eat it."_

"_What are you talking about, this is delicious." Reid said with his mouth completely full. He'd set little Reid down who was standing holding on to the table smacking it with his tiny hands. "Hey careful there kiddo," Reid smiled and moved his plate with half of his sandwich on it to the other side of the table. Little Reid began to make his way over that direction. "Well at least one other person sees how great it is."_

"_So Mom, what's up, what did you guys want to talk to us about?"_

"_Oh well, Brianna and I, we've been talking."_

"_We gaddered dat much." Reid tried to be snarky but it came out more comical through his mouth full of lunch meat._

_Brianna chimed in this time. "Lily and I have been talking about the two of you having a family." _

_Luke was quiet and sat way back against the couch, as though withdrawing from the conversation. He was sure that Reid would think he was behind this. Reid just stopped chewing and looked at Luke. Luke held up his hands slightly and gave the look that said, 'don't look at me'._

"_Reid," Brianna started again, "before you get all worked up, no is here to pressure you. We just came up with this idea and wanted to run it by you. And this was my idea not Luke's so don't you dare start on him!"_

"_I didn't say a word," Reid looked at the floor with a guilty look forgetting all about the sandwich._

"_You don't have to say it dork!" Brianna sat silently for several seconds and then continued. "Look we know you two have lots of options including adoption but," she stopped and chewed her lip for a moment. "The thing is, I've been thinking… to have children as close a genetically possible to your own… Well, Lily and I would like to be your surrogates."_

_Luke could barely contain his excitement, he leaned forward with his arms on his knees, clasping his hands together, wearing a huge grin, "Are you serious? You'd do that for us?" _

_Reid looked as though he'd gone catatonic. Eyes wide open, mouth wide open, no sound coming out._

"_Of course we would Sweetie, we love you both so much, we want your lives to be complete."_

_Luke looked at Bree, "Have you discussed this with Casey? Is he ok with it?"_

"_Yeah he's very ok with it. He wanted to be here with us when we made the offer but he knows it's kind of personal and I explained it would be a sensitive issue with my brother here the venus fly trap." At which remark Reid closed his mouth. _

_Lily looked at Reid then at Luke and then at Brianna. Brianna looked back at her and mouthed "we should go". _

_Lily gave her a nod and said, "Well we should go and let you too talk it over. We really just wanted to present the idea and let you know that we're ready whenever you are."_

"_Oh.." Everyone looked at Brianna with that exclamation and then followed her eyes to her son on the floor. He had Reid's sandwich all apart, bits of bread and saliva dripping from his chin with a handful of meat in one tiny fist and a handful of cheese in the other. _

"_Well, he's aptly named," said Luke. "Here, I'll clean him up while Reid works on Ethan."_

_Reid looked curiously at Luke. He still had not uttered a sound. _

"_Reid, you give him chocolate covered donuts every time he comes over. I cleaned him up the last three times, now it's your turn."_

"_What? No wonder he's like a kid on crack when we get home from here!"_

"_Sorry Mom," Luke called over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen with his nephew. "Take him to Dad, he can work it out running around the farm. Reid, REID, get in here and clean up this mess!"_

_Reid finally woke from hypnotized state. "Excuse me," he said to the ladies. He walked in to the kitchen to see Ethan on the floor, chocolate all over his hands. He had chocolate in a one inch radius around his mouth and in one eyebrow and one ear. It was on the floor as though he'd been finger painting in it and on the knees of his trousers and one shoe._

* * *

"_Luke it's just too weird, I can't do it."_

"_Reid, this is a great opportunity, it's as close as we could come to our children being genetically ours._

"_It doesn't bother you?"_

"_What?"_

"_The thought of your mother carrying my child? Because the thought of Bree carrying yours is.. is.. I don't even know what it is. Besides, what happens when this chocolate episode is ours to deal with every day?"_

_Luke tilted his head, "Seriously Reid? You think you can use that? You're Chief of Staff at the hospital, a world renown neurosurgeon. I own a multinational conglomerate. We could afford a house keeper." Then he barely audibly followed it by a grumbling "on that hopefully wouldn't placate our young children with chocolate covered donuts."_

"_I heard that." Reid stood at the French doors in their kitchen staring out at their back patio. The snow sparkled like diamonds where the sun danced on the surface. He'd always known he'd never have a traditional family but he'd been ok with that. He hadn't intended on having a family at all. Now with Luke everything was different. Now the options of a gay couple that wanted a family actually had to be thought about. Not only did he not want to deny his Luke of a family, he'd actually been warming to the idea. He'd figured adoption would be the route to take. But hey, he was Reid Oliver, a child with his DNA had to be brilliant. He did like the thought of it. But Luke's mother? But then what was the alternative? A surrogate that they didn't know? He wouldn't be at all happy with that either. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly._

_Luke walked up behind him, he slipped his arms around Reid's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. "Reid, I'm not going to push you into anything. You know my thoughts. I'm just asking that you give it time to settle in and you really think about it before you say no. If you still think it's a bad idea… then we'll adopt. The foundation has connections, it's something I can check into, but only when you're ready."_

_Reid turned within Luke's embrace. As Luke looked into his bright green eyes he was again accosted by the thought that a child of Reid's would be perfect. But he couldn't push, Reid had to feel as though he weren't being pushed into this. _

_Reid's gaze bored into Luke, it explored the far reaches of his soul through the deep brown shaded windows that stared back at him. Reid was again impressed with how much he had changed. He'd never expected to fall in love, certainly not with someone like Luke. But he loved Luke probably more than any one person had ever loved another. He knew that to deny Luke of something that was ingrained into his very being would eat him alive from the inside. _

_Reid put his hands on either side of Luke's face and kissed him. As he pulled back he said, "Hey now that we're alone, you have a daily task to take care of. _

"_Yeah, Reid, about that… You really can give up tanning now you know. You're looking so unnatural for this time of year and I can plainly see the blurring of at least 3 layers of butterflies on your ass."_

_Reid's face split into a grin and he began to drag Luke to the bedroom. "I was wondering how long I'd get away with that. Ok, so what can we paint on your ass now?"_

_Luke smiled, rolled his eyes and not so reluctantly allowed himself to be led to the back of the house._

* * *

Luke and Reid were sitting at Java. Reid had a fully schedule today and Luke had an early meeting for the foundation. They'd just sat down with coffee and Danish when their phones went off.

Luke looked at his phone, "Text."

Reid grabbed at his as well, "Me too?" His eyebrows knitted together, "It's your…"

"My mom." Luke finished for him.

They both just sat there alternating looks from their phones to each other then back to their phones.

'_**It says positive! **__**'**_


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29 – The New Addition**

Reid was in shock. He just stared at his phone. Luke of course used the "call back" option and got his mom on the phone immediately. Reid in his state of shock listened to the one side of the conversation in a daze.

"Mom, mom… yeah are you sure…. I know you do… I know it's not…ok… should Reid make an appointment for you?.. I know… ok ok… well are you free for lunch?..the Lakeview… how about 1:30… ok."

"Wow, can you believe it?" He looked expectantly at Reid who still sat there speechless.

"No." Reid finally found his voice and reached one hand to rub behind his neck.

"Hey, you ok?" Luke reached across and lifted Reid's head by his chin. "This is big huh? The actual spawn of the great Dr. Oliver is on its way."

Reid still quiet only nodded his head. The look on his face the one he wore when he tried to hide emotion.

"She already made an appointment. It's next Tuesday so check your calendar. 11:15 ok?"

Again Reid nodded his head affirmatively.

"Come on, I'll drive you to work."

* * *

Brianna was in the kitchen trying to get breakfast for her boys. Little Reid was in his high chair drinking juice and eating a handful of dry Cheerios off the tray and Brianna was flipping French toast in a pan.

"Hey something smells fabulous!" Casey wandered into the kitchen from the bathroom. Hair still wet from the shower and towel slung around his hips. He tried to wrap his arms around Bree from behind and peer over her shoulder but bending down to her stunted height cause him to dislodge his towel and he quickly stood to fasten it back around his waist. "We need to figure something out about this height difference or I'm going to get a bad back from stooping all the time."

Brianna just laughed as he wandered back into the bathroom, presumably to finish getting ready. She knew he had a meeting with his counselor today and would probably not have time for lunch which is why she had decided on a big breakfast. "Hurry up, this is almost done."

"I'm right here why are you yelling?" He said from right behind her. Her spatula went in the air and she began to pitch forward over the stove. Casey caught her with his one free hand, his giggly laugh reverberating in the kitchen causing little Reid to laugh as well.

"Casey Hughes that was not nice!" She turned in his arm to stare at him, fire in her bright green eyes.

"Well who ever said I was nice? Here try this." He set the small plastic step stool that they had gotten for the baby on the floor.

She stepped up on it and put her arms around his neck. "Why do you have to be so tall anyway?"

"Ask my parents," he said as he reached behind her to grab the spatula and put the last two pieces of French toast onto the platter.

As he pulled away Brianna had a haunted look on her face. Her emerald eyes wide. "Hey, what's with that? Last time you looked like that your brother was stuck in an elevator overnight."

Brianna continued to look dumbstruck. As though she hadn't heard a word.

"Brianna," Casey said snapping his fingers and finally patting her cheek hard.

"Oh sorry," she finally responded.

"Gawd… That's just so… weird." He said as he grabbed the platter of French toast and sat down at the table. He grabbed his phone and hit speed dial with one hand while he dished himself out three pieced of the custardy bread with the other. "Luke, hey man what's up?.. Yeah don't hey Casey me, Brianna's got this look on her face like a dead relative just rose up out of the stove and cooked our breakfast." He looked up at Bree for validation of what he just said and his features screwed into a look of 'what the hell' and he continued, "yeah an now she's got some weird ass grin on her face and is biting her lip."

Brianna seemed to come back to herself and was staring at Casey expectantly as he spoke. "No way, are you serious? Dude that's great… sure man, yeah ok… alright see you later."

"Well I suppose you know what he said right?"

Brianna's face broke out into a huge smile and she nodded her tiny head profusely. "Lily's pregnant right?"

Casey shook his head disbelievingly. He had already inhaled most of his breakfast and was finishing the last few bites.

"So I suppose you'll be off to the hospital to harass the chief of staff right?"

Brianna tore off a piece of French toast from the pile and popped it into her mouth. "Yup." She still grinned wickedly.

"Ok well you feed little Man and I'll go get ready. I'll come back and get him cleaned and dressed while you get ready."

"Kay… Hey, what about all this French toast?"

Casey leaned down and planted a kiss on her perfect little mouth. "Bree, I had 3 huge pieces already. We all can't eat like Reid, although I do give it my best college try." He smiled. "Take the rest to him, I'm sure he's been nearly catatonic since you had your little telepathy episode."

* * *

Reid had been staring at the same case file for an hour and hadn't a clue what it said. He'd realized his sexuality at a young age and never entertained the idea of children. On the obscure occasion that the thought had crossed his mind adoption was as far as it ever got. But now here he was, expecting a child of his own. The thought was overwhelming.

A knock sounded on the door but Reid was so lost in thought that he didn't notice. Brianna opened the door a smidge and let her son toddle through the door. The small moving child managed to catch Reid's eye just barely. His head snapped around and his voice caught up with him. "Hey Jr. what are you doing here?"

"Wheed," the child said simply.

"We decided to visit today, are you busy?" Brianna asked from the door.

Reid laughed and shook his head. "I should have known to be expecting you."

She practically leapt across the floor and embraced him. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Wheed," his nephew said again.

"Is he saying my name?" Reid bent down and put his arms out for the child that looked just like them.

"Well yeah, his name too remember, Casey's been teaching him names. He can't grasp 'uncle' yet," she let out a small laugh, "he can't really do Casey yet either."

Reid cocked an eyebrow at her.

Brianna seemed to be trying to keep a straight face, "Calls him Kissy". She looked again at Reid and they both burst into laughter. "You should see how frustrated he gets sounding out 'C-AAAA-S-EY' over and over."

They sat at his desk talking while he stuffed large pieces of warmed up French toast into his mouth he finally voiced his concern. "What if I'm no good at this Bree? It's not like I had the best role model."

"Actually it is like you had the best role model, Uncle Oliver was great."

"Yeah, yeah you're right." He looked thoughtful as he continued to stuff the remnants of her left over breakfast into his mouth.

"Reid, you're different than our father was. You're different on the inside where it counts. And if you need more proof, look at how great you are with Reid and Ethan. Even Faith and Natalie adore you."

"Yeah well I hardly think Faith counts. She's like the annoying little sister that you never were. But in a weird way," he gave a slight shiver, "and she's always checking me out."

Brianna snickered, "Yeah well, just be glad you're not Parker. I happened upon them at Emma's  
Easter brunch… he needed four hands just to contain her two."

Reid grinned and seemed lost in thought.

"Yeah, a lot in common with her older brother I'm guessing." She looked at Reid who wore comical look on his face of guilty pleasure.

He stood and walked around the desk looking at his nephew playing on the floor with his little educational mock cell phone. It was a gift from Uncle Luke on his first birthday, and had become his favorite. Reid suddenly looked serious as he stared at the child. "I can do this right? I mean this is my child, I can't let them down."

"You can do this Reid, you'll be great, and when you aren't…" he turned to look at her then, "You have Luke and he is more than capable of picking up the slack. Look at how good he is with the kids."

"You've got me there. He is great with them. I think he's been practicing for fatherhood since he was a teen."

"Your nephew here adores him. But Reid, remember you've got me here too and we'll be raising our children together and," she gave him a wicked grin, "I'm not afraid to tell you when you're being an ass."

Reid's face split into a huge smile and he pulled his Brianna to his chest kissing the top of her head. "What would I ever do without you?"

"Oh you'd do fine," she answered. "It's just that you do ten times better with me here," she laughed and he joined in her laughter.

* * *

"Come on Reid, don't you want it to be a surprise in the end?"

"No Luke, I want to know up front. I want to prepare."

"Prepare what?"

"Oh come on Mr. Interior Decorator. You really want to either do neutral stuff in the nursery or decorate after the baby comes? You… who has been scowering the baby catalogs for weeks now. You're saying that you don't want to spend the next few months getting everything just right?"

Luke bit his lip. _He has a point, damn I hate him being right all the time! _Luke's eyebrows were pinched together and he looked thoughtful. "Uhm… but it would be so much fun if we waited to find out." Luke didn't even sound convincing to himself anymore.

Reid gave him the 'are you serious' look and they both began to laugh.

"Ok ok," Luke conceded. "You're right, I can do it properly if I know the sex of the baby."

"Great now that's settled, I need a snack."

They were just about to enter Reid's office when a small body catapulted into them, wrapping a small arm around one of Luke's legs and one of Reid's. "Hey buddy," Luke said as he reached down to rub Ethan's back.

Ethan looked up at them, his eyes wide open and dark pools of brown. "We came to see inside Mommy's tummy. She said we can get a picture of your baby and I get to be an uncol. She said if it's ok with you we can know if it's a boy or not. Please can we?"

Reid ruffled his hair and looked at Luke.

"Yeah buddy we can find out if it's a boy or a girl."

"YES!" cried Ethan putting his little hand up to give 'high five's' to Luke and Reid. They both put hands up and waited for his little slaps. Suddenly his little face looked serious. "Hey, I don't want to know its a girl, I don't like girls."

Reid and Luke looked at him and then each other and burst out laughing. Ethan had no idea what was so funny but laughed along since it seemed fun.

Once that was over he was tugging at Reid's pants again indicating for Reid to lean down. Lily was just catching up to Ethan as he was whispering into Reid's ear. Reid nodded and they went into his was just entering her second trimester and was beginning to show. She approached Luke who waited for her outside Reid's door. "Hi Mom."

"Hi Baby, ready for this?"

Luke's face lit up. His smile literally shined. "Ready and eager." Luke reached out to hug Lily. "Thank you Mom, thank you so much."

"Seeing you this happy Luke, it's all the thanks I need."

With that they entered Reid's office. Lily rolled her eyes at the sight of Ethan with half of a Ho Ho sticking out of his mouth.

"Reid, just remember what's good for the goose… I'll have a grandchild here quite soon that I can hype up on sugar anytime I please and then send home with you."

"Hey there Sport, easy with that, yeah easy… better let me eat the other one huh?"

Lily and Luke both laughed at Reid as he swiftly moved around the desk taking the second cake from Ethan and stuffing it in his own mouth.

Luke shook his head at his boyfriend with the mouthful of chocolate cake and crème filling. "Finally she finds the thing that will get through to you huh?"

Reid just shrugged his shoulders in answer. They all looked at Ethan who had shoved the remainder of the cake in his mouth and puffed out his cheeks as he chewed to match Reid. Reid began to laugh and Ethan laughed in response. Ethan laughing with his mouth full wasn't quite as graceful as Reid and soggy bits of Ho Ho escaped through his smiling lips and plopped onto his shirt and the floor. Reid looking defeated dropped his head into his hands.

"I'm not cleaning that up Reid."

"I know Luke," Reid huffed, "Come on Sport, lets clean your shirt." Reid put his hand out and Ethan eagerly took it.

* * *

"I can't believe you got someone from janitorial to clean the spot on your carpet."

"Can we not do this now Luke? We're about to find out the sex of the baby."

"But I mean that little spot, and you call.."

"Luke, Ethan's grabbing the dials." Lily interrupted.

The ultrasound was underway when Ethan had started messing around with the equipment. "Oh sorry!" Luke replied as he swept Ethan up into his arms.

It took a few more minutes and they were able to hear the heartbeat. The sound seemed to resonate through the room. One the picture of the baby came into focus they were overwhelmed by the tiny child that was already sucking its thumb.

"Can you tell?" Luke asked.

"No," Reid replied, "Not unless it moves."

As if on cue the baby pulled its thumb from its mouth and began to wiggle around. "Is that?.." Luke asked.

"Yeah," Reid nodded, mesmerized by the screen. Finally Reid had the presence of mind to retrieve his cell phone and record the heartbeat.

Lily had to make sure. "So it's a.."

"Boy!" Luke and Reid replied at the same time. Luke was smiling one of his thousand watt smiles.

Luke kissed his mom's cheek while Reid took her hand and looked at her not saying anything verbally but saying so much with his eyes and expression.

They were all so engrossed in the moment no one seemed to pay any attention to Ethan who had gone through a range of facial expressions. As light dawned his small face lit completely and he began to tug incessantly on Luke's sleeve.

"What is it buddy?"

"Can I take him fishin?"

"Sure," Luke whispered affectionately, "but, I think you'll have to wait a few years."

* * *

"Reid! Come here what do you think?"

Reid rounded the corner to the hallway. Luke stood at the door with both arms pointing toward the nursery. "Looks like an indoor playground." He said with a mouthful of sandwich.

"You don't like it?" Luke looked at his husband in disbelief.

"Sure, it's great since I didn't have to do any of it."

"I don't care, as long as you don't hate it, I had a great time doing it."

They had gone back and forth between jungle themes, sports themes, airplanes and sailboats. Finally they had decided on pirates and whales. After all, what little boy doesn't like pirate ships? Luke had of course gone over the top and had large palm trees sculpted and a toy chest that looked like a treasure chest, a mural on the wall etc… As they stood there now looking over the finished product Reid had to admit that it looked great. Ok it looked like the nursery of a rich boy, but that was in fact what their son was and Reid was tired of fighting it.

"Foshanate fo me." Reid muffled out with another mouthful.

"Reid how can you be eating again, we just ate an hour and a half ago."

"Ruke we hab dis convosation every night." He was now swallowing his bite.

"Yeah but usually its 3 hours after dinner."

"Yeah, well, every night I'm not about to be a father the next day."

"Are you nervous?"

"No… I'm terrified!"

"Reid."

"Look Luke, I've been talked to by you, Brianna, your mother and even Holden. I'm all talked out about it. I just have to work the rest out on my own ok? Can I just finish my sandwich?"

"Sure," Luke said kissing Reid's temple. "It's just that if you fill up on sandwiches…"

"Wha ?"

"Well you'll miss out on the crème puffs in the back of the fridge that I picked up from the bakery this afternoon."

"Cweam puffs?" Reid's eyes lit up immediately.

* * *

The OB had suggested to Lily a cesarean delivery since her last child had been delivered that way. She could try a normal vaginal delivery but it would be a certain amount of risk. Lily had decided on the cesarean. Since this wasn't her child she didn't want to go through the long painful birth with knowing that at the end she would hand the baby off to her son. This way she could remain a little more detached. She knew she would miss the baby she had been carrying but she comforted herself with the knowledge that she would see her grandchild often and had already decided that he would call her 'Nana'. She had also thought ahead to schedule a small vacation for herself, Ethan, Natalie and Faith. Faith was now seeing her as a sort of hero and would help her as she recovered and took time to strengthen the bond with her two youngest children.

Luke and Reid were both present during the surgery, it was difficult for Reid to be a spectator in an operating room but knowing that he'd be holding his son in a few minutes proved enough of a distraction for him.

The rest of the family waited outside. Even Holden was there. Luke came out first. As he approached Brianna jumped to her feet and Casey slowly stood up behind her. "Well?" she asked full of excitement.

Luke's smile shown like the sun and Holden beamed a smile almost to match. "He's perfect." Luke announced. He reached down to grab a lock of Brianna's hair. "And he's loaded with these red curls. He's 7 lbs and 2 oz and he's 19 inches long. Reid will be bringing him out in a few minutes."

"How's Lily?" Holden asked.

"Mom's good, crying but good, she held him and introduced herself. She wants to see Faith as soon as they get her moved."

They all turned as the doors opened and Reid stepped out. Everyone was on their feet trying to get a peek at the new born. Reid tipped his arm steadily holding his son in a firm but gentle grip.

"Well everyone, meet Devin James Oliver."


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – Devin at Home

Reid and Luke stood there looking at their new son. Devin was now two days old and sleeping in his own crib for the first time. It was all that they could do to keep the family at bay while they shared this special day together with their baby. Luke didn't want Reid teasing him about being a sap but it was all he could do not to shed tears of joy and sentiment as they looked at the babe that looked so much like Reid.

Luke made himself busy in order to keep his emotions under control. He took stock of everything in the nursery. Diapers? Check. Wipes? Check. Rash cream? Check. Powder? Check. As he went through the list he was too afraid to look at Reid lest he see the unshed tears in his eyes, but completely failed to notice his husband wiping bits of moisture from his own eyes.

* * *

A couple of days later they had settled into a routine. Reid had taken a couple of weeks off to be around the house with Luke and Devin. Now the family was coming over in droves, although Lily and the kids were away vacationing. Meg was home visiting and Grandma Emma brought her over to see her new family member. Meg seemed a bit shy and unsure of herself but Luke convinced Reid it was ok for her to hold Devin. In the mean time Emma was able to distract Reid with his favorite Caramel Apple pie to commemorate the occasion.

Luke and Reid stood near the doorway while Emma showed Meg the beautiful nursery. Meg sat in the rocker and rocked the baby while Emma watched on fussing over the little redhead. Pride swelled in the hearts of the two dads as they watched, emotion overcoming them. Luke slipped his arm around Reid. Reid had never quite felt the way that he did now. This feeling of completeness with his husband by his side and his son the center of attention just a few feet away, he pulled Luke closer kissing his cheek close to his ear.

* * *

The next day Holden came by. Molly was busy at the station and was unable to join them. He came in and sat at the island in the kitchen. Devin was sleeping so it gave father and son a few minutes to talk. "So how's it going?" Holden asked.

"Good. He's a good baby, Hungry all the time though, wonder where he gets it from?" Luke asked pointedly.

"What?" muffled Reid with a mouthful of sandwich sitting by himself at the table reading a medical journal, reading glasses perched elegantly on his perfect nose.

Luke and Holden just laughed.

"He doesn't cry much, except when he's hungry of course, and then his little face is so adorable. He turns completely red and his temper is just furious." Luke sincerely laughed as he explained about his son.

The two men looked knowingly at each other and then at Reid. Reid looked up to see four eyes staring at him. "Ok, I'm just going to go to my study and let you two talk about me in private.

"Oh come on Reid, don't go." Luke felt bad.

"It's fine Luke, visit with your dad. I started writing a new paper yesterday based on a case study I did last month. I'd like to finish it while I'm off work." Reid answered, and kissed Luke's temple. Then he looked at Holden. "I won't be a hermit, I'll come back out and visit a bit before you leave."

"Ok," was Holden's simple reply.

Now that they were alone Holden stared down at the coffee he was drinking and asked, "So, have you heard from your mom?"

"Yeah, I have. She calls each day. She talks to Reid mostly. They seem to have created some kind of bond. Even since before she was pregnant. With me it's mostly platitudes an how much she loves me. I know this has been a little difficult for her, but I talk to Faith everyday too. She said Mom is doing good, spending lots of time with Ethan and that she's sure Mom would do it all over again given the chance. But it's only been a few days. I think by the time they come home it will be fine."

Holden seemed deep in thought. "Your mom is a spectacular woman."

"Yeah dad, she is." Luke was quiet for a few minutes as was Holden. "Dad, you and Molly have never tied the knot."

"No."

"Are you waiting for something in particular to happen?"

"This is probably not news to you Luke, but I love them both. It was easy for me to make a decision when Damian was here, but now he isn't and I have this incredible connection to both women and it's very difficult to really commit to either of them."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I wish I knew." Holden not wanting to focus on his own issues suddenly smiled and looked up at Luke. "So, a father now huh? How's it going?"

"It's good. Reid has helped out a lot. Once we both start working again though… I think we might have to get a nanny." Luke sighed, "I just hope I'm half as good a dad as you."

"You're gonna be great, don't worry."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well if you could see in yourself what I see in you, you'd know. It's the way I've seen you with Ethan since he was born, the way you are with Nat. They adore you, and that's just being a big brother."

Luke smiled, "Thanks Dad, I needed the confidence boost."

Devin finally woke after that and Holden got in some quality grandpa time, cooing and fussing over his new grandson. It was different territory for Holden but he looked forward to the following years when he would get to teach his grandson about all the stuff on the farm just as he had with Luke and now with Ethan.

* * *

That evening Casey and Brianna came for dinner. They got to try out the high chair that Devin was way too small for, on little Reid. Reid was toddling now and adored his uncle. As soon as the odd family unit came through the door, little Reid made a beeline for Reid. His little legs carried him so fast that Reid barely had time to crouch and scoop him up. "Key kiddo, slow down or you'll face plant."

Excited as he was to be there and see Reid and Luke the little guy was tired as well and laid his head on his uncle's shoulder. Reid rubbed his back and carried him back to the kitchen where he was helping Luke to fix dinner. "Uke," said the toddler as he caught sight of Luke setting the table.

"Hey kiddo," Luke answered as he kissed the child's forehead and rubbed his back. "Looks like somebody is tired."

Brianna piped up. "Casey and I took him to the park today. He's pretty wiped out."

"Well, maybe if we keep snuggling him he'll conk out." Luke replied.

"Mmm, he does love being here with his uncles, I'm just wondering when the jealousy phase will start."

"Oh Bree, let's not talk that kind of stuff yet. That's pushing it."

Devin sat in his carrier on the table, he wasn't sleeping but wasn't fussing either. He was just happy to be there with everyone.

"Hello angel!" Brianna said to her nephew. "Can I take him out?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Bree, you don't have to ask," Luke answered her.

Casey was quiet that evening. Not that he didn't have brilliantly funny things to say, just that he was a bit on awe watching the family dynamics at work, as was Reid. The two who usually had plenty of sarcastic remarks to fill and evening and yet they seemed dumbstruck. Oh well, they could keep their mouths busy with food at least. They had Reid's famous staple, spaghetti. It was complete with homemade meatballs and thick slices of Italian sausage. They ate and visited until they were stuffed.

Later in the nursery as Brianna fed Devin a bottle Reid sat on the glider ottoman watching her. "I'll never be like _**him**_ will I?"

Brianna reached out for his hand, their green eyes each boring into the others as she held his hand tightly. "Never, you'll never be like him. You've never been anything like him Reid and you never will."

Reid pressed his lips together into a tight line and shook his head. Somehow when she assured him, he believed her. He looked at his son in Brianna's arms and rubbed the small red curls. Whatever it took, he'd always keep him safe, if he knew anything, then he knew that.

* * *

Six months later they were having a small dinner party. Katie and Chris were there with Jacob, and Casie and Brianna were there with Reid. Casie was sitting on the floor playing with the toddlers and Luke was holding Devin. The baby had just finished a bottle less than 10 minutes ago and most of them were watching and playing Scene It on the TV.

"Oh my God," Luke exclaimed. "That's disgusting. I only just finished feeding you, how can you poop that fast?"

Reid rolled his eyes at Luke. "You do more whining about diaper duty lately than a mother of triplets."

Luke looked pleadingly at Reid. "No Luke, I changed two already today."

"I'll do dishes." Luke bargained.

The smell was already permeating the room and Katie and Brianna had their t-shirts pulled up over their noses. Even Luke was turning his head away.

Reid made a big deal out of rolling his eyes and consenting, holding out his arms for his boy. "Dishes tonight and tomorrow," Reid said.

"Fine," Luke replied handing off the baby.

The women looked at their respective men wondering why they weren't pinching their noses. "How can you stand it?" Katie asked.

"Oh please," Casey said. "Have you not smelled your living room at half time during a big game?" Casey looked at Chris and they both burst out laughing.

Katie just shook her head and looked at Luke. "I can't believe your friends with these guys. And oh my God, how did you get Reid to agree to change the diaper so easily."

Luke gave a devilish grin, "Follow me and I'll show you."

They all got up and followed him to the formal dining room where Luke had his NannyCam/Video baby monitor stashed. He turned it on and they all stood there watching Reid in the nursery. "He doesn't know I had the camera's installed already." Luke giggled. "I sent him in there on purpose so I could show you guys, it's so hilarious."

They all stood there bunched together trying to watch. There was Reid, reaching down to a far back shelf of the changing station, pulling out a filter mask and surgical gloves. Softly talking to his son all the while getting himself 'geared up' for the task at hand. As he finished and removed the gloves and mask they tried to stifle their laughter and ran back to the living room to resume their positions as before. When Reid returned and handed Devin back to Luke muttering, "No big deal," no one could take it anymore and the room split out into laughter leaving Reid wondering what was going on.


End file.
